>As US allies reel from Donald Trump’s weekend comments encouraging Russia to attack European allies if they don’t meet NATO budget contribution goals, multiple former Trump advisers warn in my upcoming book that the former president will seek to formally withdraw the US from the NATO alliance if he wins a second term.
>In “The Return of Great Powers”, which will be published March 12, a former senior US official, who served in both the Trump and Biden administrations at a high level, told me that if Trump defeats President Joe Biden in November “the US will be out of NATO.”
>“NATO would be in real jeopardy,” John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, agreed. “I think he would try to get out.”
>Trump’s disparagement of US security commitments extends to its mutual defense agreements with South Korea and Japan as well, retired General John Kelly, who served as White House chief of staff to Trump, told me.
>“The point is, he saw absolutely no point in NATO,” Kelly said in the book. “He was just dead set against having troops in South Korea, again, a deterrent force, or having troops in Japan, a deterrent force.”
>“He thought (Vladimir) Putin was an okay guy and Kim (Jong Un) was an okay guy that we had pushed North Korea into a corner,” Kelly recalled. “To him, it was like we were goading these guys. ‘If we didn’t have NATO, then Putin wouldn’t be doing these things.’”
>Senior members of the administration I spoke to for the book also detailed how Trump came close to withdrawing the US from the alliance, which is a key bedrock of Western security against Russia, in his first term and warn he is likely to go further in a second.
>“Democrat and media pearl-clutchers seem to have forgotten that we had four years of peace and prosperity under President Trump, but Europe saw death and destruction under Obama-Biden and now more death and destruction under Biden,” Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller told CNN. “President Trump got our allies to increase their NATO spending by demanding they pay up, but Joe Biden went back to letting them take advantage of the American taxpayer. When you don’t pay your defense spending you can’t be surprised that you get more war.”
**Trump’s 2018 near NATO exit**
>At the core of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and enshrined in Article 5 of the treaty is the promise of collective defense — that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all the nations in the alliance. Trump has long complained about the amount NATO members spend on defense compared with the US.
>In “The Return of Great Powers,” multiple advisors recount in detail how Trump very nearly removed the US from NATO at the alliance’s 2018 summit in Brussels.
>“He was always ranting and raving and jumping up and down, and oftentimes he would spin up in terms of, ‘Well, I’m smarter than they are,’ and all of this,” Kelly said, describing Trump’s mindset in Brussels. Kelly said he tried to explain the importance of NATO to Trump in terms he believed the president would understand. Kelly’s approach involved a combination of explaining what was actually possible and what might make him look bad. In the case of withdrawing from NATO, Kelly tried to convey to Trump that both applied.
>But at the summit, Trump persisted. A former senior US official told me that Trump issued orders to then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and then Defense Secretary Mark Esper for the US to withdraw from NATO. Despite vehemently opposing the move. They considered the president’s direction a “lawful order” and drew up plans to execute the withdrawal.
>Bolton recalls the 2018 summit with genuine fear. “Honest to God, it was frightening because we didn’t know what he was going to do up until the last minute. And I mean, I think, he all but said he was going to get out of NATO and then pulled back on it,” said Bolton.
Talking about Trump, I would not be surprise if he also became a Russian ally. This guy should be owning his underwears to the Russians.
Well, officially he can’t. Since the recent changes in US legislation, the president cannot unilaterally pull out of NATO. Congress will need to agree. Of course, if congress consists of spineless cowards that will do Trump’s bidding without questions, that piece of legislation would be completely worthless.
The US fought how many proxy-wars and supported countless dictators in the name of the cold war…
​
Now half our country supports a Russian puppet due to idiotic racism and anti-wokeness.
​
What a fucking joke. Glad I got a European passport recently.
He can’t. Even if he were to get it trough Congress it would be a years if not decade long process and by then we will be rid of him…
>ex-adviser warns
Gee, thanks Mr. Ex-adviser. Not like we had the same sentiment expressed straight from the horse’s mouth. Truly invaluable insight and expertise.
Good, time for us to hold up our own pants.
Get out boys ready for war again if necessary
Peace has been paid in blood and that’s simply forgotten by the majority of people in the west.
He won’t. He’s just playing hardball as usual. He wants the other nato countries to commit 2% gdp that’s all. He always talks crazy to get what he wants
I think we have to accept that if he is voted in this is the worldview of the majority of Americans. It sucks but we can’t force the reality we want. We have to live in the one we have. Now is the time that Europe steps up and show that it is willing to fight to protect its continent from russian aggression, with or without America.
I’m impressed whit how the Russians are pulling this off. never in my life I thought it would be possible. what a joke.
go ahead Donny, let them terrorist attack the US. We other NATO Alliance Countrys wont give a shit then:)
I feel with poor 🇸🇪Sweden, begging to join NATO and now a potential presidential election winner is saying he’s maybe pulling out of the alliance.
US out of NATO would force more independance for Europe, I hope it will happen! 🙂
Make America small again
Why are NATO members worried?
Is it because NATO is essentially just the US military and tells the others what to do?
It’s not like we didn’t knew he was Putin’s little bitch from day one, and if we didn’t Helsinki proved it.
what’s baffling is that he’s still being talked about as a legitimate candidate with valid chances to win.
It stinks of splendid isolation.
This would absolutely cripple US hard and soft power in Europe. They’d still be spending as much on defence, but have nowhere near the sway over European countries as their defence would no longer be linked. Most US forces deploy to Europe under NATO.
This would be 80 years of US spending and influence completely thrown away.
Saying that, it’s Trump, and he’s absurdly stupid, so…
Didn’t he promise this during his last election campaign too? And if he did, did he actually try this during his presidency?
US credability will completely go out the window if this happens. Why would anyone want to be a US ally if your always one elction away from being abandoned
Honestly I’m shocked at how Russia seems successful right now. They have conquered what they wanted in ukraine, they are tanking the eu and now they are making the us retire from the “west”.
Sure, their country is a hellhole for 99,99% of the population, but nowadays that 0,01% have all the power.
I honestly don’t understand how they are doing it, it’s a country with less GDP than Italy…
Why on earth is the US going for old geriatric people with wholly outdated principles and world view perspectives?
It sounds like the US needs someone who’s gonna improve the lives of US folk to stop these kinds of idiots from getting back into power.
I hope so
‘If we didn’t have NATO, then Putin wouldn’t be doing these things.’”
ofc he wouldn’t cause most europe would now be a 3rd world shithole under russia, like russia
it is not possible. stop fear mongering. ( US legislation )
Can someone explain to me what ramifications would it have? Genuinely curious because I’m ignorant.
I’m not sure the American people would be keen on that – outside of the MAGA cult, I mean.
Pull out of NATO and ‘American’ will be byword for ‘coward’ for years to come. Helped win WWI? Doesn’t matter; cowards. Helped win WW2? Doesn’t matter; cowards.
No American I know would tolerate the dishonour.
If there is nothing the west can gain from the US…
I see
Sanctions banning US materials and products, software and services, opening relations with China and Cuba.
Banning of Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Intel, AMD, Amazon, GM…
Europe can build its own armies. We lost dependency on Russia in 2 years, We can do the same for the US.
It’s not like the US is the good partner… More of the ‘not as bad’ partner.
Trump cannot withdraw the USA from NATO without congressional approval. If Trump is reelected, the situation regarding Ukraine aid will likely repeat itself, with Democrats voting no and Republicans voting yes. Ultimately, the decision remains undecided, and the US will remain in NATO.
I wish his dad had pulled out
Might as well leave the UN too while he’s at it!
There’s now an EU meeting pencilled in for a Security and Defence Union. If he does this, he’ll make America a lot less relevant and the EU a lot more relevant in one fell swoop.
Good.
Fear mongering by the media. Nothing else. They said the same shit about Trump during his last term, while Nato at that time actually grew stronger WITHOUT the war.
Trump is a genius! This is all deliberate provocation to the other NATO countries to pull their finger out and start funding their militaries properly like during the cold war.
Dutch here. I guess the message from mr. Trump is, if you want security you better put your money where your mouth is. And I do agree with this. If Europe expects the U.S. to hold it’s part of the agreement then they should simply do the same. The arrogance of European leaders on this issue feels so cringe to me. Simply increase your defence budget to at lease the minimum agreed amount. Buy some american army stuff and everybody’s happy.
35 comments
>As US allies reel from Donald Trump’s weekend comments encouraging Russia to attack European allies if they don’t meet NATO budget contribution goals, multiple former Trump advisers warn in my upcoming book that the former president will seek to formally withdraw the US from the NATO alliance if he wins a second term.
>In “The Return of Great Powers”, which will be published March 12, a former senior US official, who served in both the Trump and Biden administrations at a high level, told me that if Trump defeats President Joe Biden in November “the US will be out of NATO.”
>“NATO would be in real jeopardy,” John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, agreed. “I think he would try to get out.”
>Trump’s disparagement of US security commitments extends to its mutual defense agreements with South Korea and Japan as well, retired General John Kelly, who served as White House chief of staff to Trump, told me.
>“The point is, he saw absolutely no point in NATO,” Kelly said in the book. “He was just dead set against having troops in South Korea, again, a deterrent force, or having troops in Japan, a deterrent force.”
>“He thought (Vladimir) Putin was an okay guy and Kim (Jong Un) was an okay guy that we had pushed North Korea into a corner,” Kelly recalled. “To him, it was like we were goading these guys. ‘If we didn’t have NATO, then Putin wouldn’t be doing these things.’”
>Senior members of the administration I spoke to for the book also detailed how Trump came close to withdrawing the US from the alliance, which is a key bedrock of Western security against Russia, in his first term and warn he is likely to go further in a second.
>“Democrat and media pearl-clutchers seem to have forgotten that we had four years of peace and prosperity under President Trump, but Europe saw death and destruction under Obama-Biden and now more death and destruction under Biden,” Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller told CNN. “President Trump got our allies to increase their NATO spending by demanding they pay up, but Joe Biden went back to letting them take advantage of the American taxpayer. When you don’t pay your defense spending you can’t be surprised that you get more war.”
**Trump’s 2018 near NATO exit**
>At the core of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and enshrined in Article 5 of the treaty is the promise of collective defense — that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all the nations in the alliance. Trump has long complained about the amount NATO members spend on defense compared with the US.
>In “The Return of Great Powers,” multiple advisors recount in detail how Trump very nearly removed the US from NATO at the alliance’s 2018 summit in Brussels.
>“He was always ranting and raving and jumping up and down, and oftentimes he would spin up in terms of, ‘Well, I’m smarter than they are,’ and all of this,” Kelly said, describing Trump’s mindset in Brussels. Kelly said he tried to explain the importance of NATO to Trump in terms he believed the president would understand. Kelly’s approach involved a combination of explaining what was actually possible and what might make him look bad. In the case of withdrawing from NATO, Kelly tried to convey to Trump that both applied.
>But at the summit, Trump persisted. A former senior US official told me that Trump issued orders to then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and then Defense Secretary Mark Esper for the US to withdraw from NATO. Despite vehemently opposing the move. They considered the president’s direction a “lawful order” and drew up plans to execute the withdrawal.
>Bolton recalls the 2018 summit with genuine fear. “Honest to God, it was frightening because we didn’t know what he was going to do up until the last minute. And I mean, I think, he all but said he was going to get out of NATO and then pulled back on it,” said Bolton.
Talking about Trump, I would not be surprise if he also became a Russian ally. This guy should be owning his underwears to the Russians.
Well, officially he can’t. Since the recent changes in US legislation, the president cannot unilaterally pull out of NATO. Congress will need to agree. Of course, if congress consists of spineless cowards that will do Trump’s bidding without questions, that piece of legislation would be completely worthless.
The US fought how many proxy-wars and supported countless dictators in the name of the cold war…
​
Now half our country supports a Russian puppet due to idiotic racism and anti-wokeness.
​
What a fucking joke. Glad I got a European passport recently.
He can’t. Even if he were to get it trough Congress it would be a years if not decade long process and by then we will be rid of him…
>ex-adviser warns
Gee, thanks Mr. Ex-adviser. Not like we had the same sentiment expressed straight from the horse’s mouth. Truly invaluable insight and expertise.
Good, time for us to hold up our own pants.
Get out boys ready for war again if necessary
Peace has been paid in blood and that’s simply forgotten by the majority of people in the west.
He won’t. He’s just playing hardball as usual. He wants the other nato countries to commit 2% gdp that’s all. He always talks crazy to get what he wants
I think we have to accept that if he is voted in this is the worldview of the majority of Americans. It sucks but we can’t force the reality we want. We have to live in the one we have. Now is the time that Europe steps up and show that it is willing to fight to protect its continent from russian aggression, with or without America.
I’m impressed whit how the Russians are pulling this off. never in my life I thought it would be possible. what a joke.
go ahead Donny, let them terrorist attack the US. We other NATO Alliance Countrys wont give a shit then:)
I feel with poor 🇸🇪Sweden, begging to join NATO and now a potential presidential election winner is saying he’s maybe pulling out of the alliance.
US out of NATO would force more independance for Europe, I hope it will happen! 🙂
Make America small again
Why are NATO members worried?
Is it because NATO is essentially just the US military and tells the others what to do?
It’s not like we didn’t knew he was Putin’s little bitch from day one, and if we didn’t Helsinki proved it.
what’s baffling is that he’s still being talked about as a legitimate candidate with valid chances to win.
It stinks of splendid isolation.
This would absolutely cripple US hard and soft power in Europe. They’d still be spending as much on defence, but have nowhere near the sway over European countries as their defence would no longer be linked. Most US forces deploy to Europe under NATO.
This would be 80 years of US spending and influence completely thrown away.
Saying that, it’s Trump, and he’s absurdly stupid, so…
Didn’t he promise this during his last election campaign too? And if he did, did he actually try this during his presidency?
US credability will completely go out the window if this happens. Why would anyone want to be a US ally if your always one elction away from being abandoned
Honestly I’m shocked at how Russia seems successful right now. They have conquered what they wanted in ukraine, they are tanking the eu and now they are making the us retire from the “west”.
Sure, their country is a hellhole for 99,99% of the population, but nowadays that 0,01% have all the power.
I honestly don’t understand how they are doing it, it’s a country with less GDP than Italy…
Why on earth is the US going for old geriatric people with wholly outdated principles and world view perspectives?
It sounds like the US needs someone who’s gonna improve the lives of US folk to stop these kinds of idiots from getting back into power.
I hope so
‘If we didn’t have NATO, then Putin wouldn’t be doing these things.’”
ofc he wouldn’t cause most europe would now be a 3rd world shithole under russia, like russia
it is not possible. stop fear mongering. ( US legislation )
Can someone explain to me what ramifications would it have? Genuinely curious because I’m ignorant.
I’m not sure the American people would be keen on that – outside of the MAGA cult, I mean.
Pull out of NATO and ‘American’ will be byword for ‘coward’ for years to come. Helped win WWI? Doesn’t matter; cowards. Helped win WW2? Doesn’t matter; cowards.
No American I know would tolerate the dishonour.
If there is nothing the west can gain from the US…
I see
Sanctions banning US materials and products, software and services, opening relations with China and Cuba.
Banning of Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Intel, AMD, Amazon, GM…
Europe can build its own armies. We lost dependency on Russia in 2 years, We can do the same for the US.
It’s not like the US is the good partner… More of the ‘not as bad’ partner.
Trump cannot withdraw the USA from NATO without congressional approval. If Trump is reelected, the situation regarding Ukraine aid will likely repeat itself, with Democrats voting no and Republicans voting yes. Ultimately, the decision remains undecided, and the US will remain in NATO.
I wish his dad had pulled out
Might as well leave the UN too while he’s at it!
There’s now an EU meeting pencilled in for a Security and Defence Union. If he does this, he’ll make America a lot less relevant and the EU a lot more relevant in one fell swoop.
Good.
Fear mongering by the media. Nothing else. They said the same shit about Trump during his last term, while Nato at that time actually grew stronger WITHOUT the war.
Trump is a genius! This is all deliberate provocation to the other NATO countries to pull their finger out and start funding their militaries properly like during the cold war.
Dutch here. I guess the message from mr. Trump is, if you want security you better put your money where your mouth is. And I do agree with this. If Europe expects the U.S. to hold it’s part of the agreement then they should simply do the same. The arrogance of European leaders on this issue feels so cringe to me. Simply increase your defence budget to at lease the minimum agreed amount. Buy some american army stuff and everybody’s happy.