NATO forces fought in Afghanistan to protect the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, but Trump made clear he would not defend our NATO Allies

By Miriam Raftery

Photo (cc by SA) --  The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington D.C. caused NATO to invoke its collective defense article for the first time.

February 12, 2024 (San Diego) — Former president Donald Trump said Saturday that if reelected, he would not defend U.S. allies under the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, or NATO, unless they paid at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. He claimed to have told the leader of a major ally that if Russia were to attack that nation, “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”

Trump’s comments during a South Carolina rally sent shockwaves around the world, drawing strong rebukes from NATO and world leaders.

Retired General Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, called the remarks “treasonous,” in a CNN interview.

Earlier, he issued this statement:  “On 9/11, when America was under attack, NATO nations all mobilized to come to our defense and fought alongside us to crush al Qaeda. They didn’t ask us for money. They didn’t put strings on it.  That is the kind of iron-clad commitment that has kept western democracies—including our own—alive for 75 years.”

General Clark added, “For Donald Trump to publicly signal to Vladimir Putin that he can take as much of Europe as he wants, and we will sit by and cheer him on, isn’t just breaking the promise the United States has made, and it isn’t just threatening Europe. It is encouraging World War III, which will hit our shores and cost American lives....The lives of every American, both in uniform and civilian, are at severe risk if Donald Trump wins this election.”