On Tuesday, President Joe Biden slammed former President Donald Trump for recently saying that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO nations that he thought had insufficiently spent on defense as part of the mutual protection agreement.
Biden said in remarks from the White House: “The former president has sent a dangerous, and shockingly, frankly, un-American signal to the world. Just a few days ago, Trump gave an invitation to Putin to invade some of our NATO allies. He said if an ally didn’t spend enough money on defense, he would encourage Russia to, ‘Do whatever the hell it wants.’ Can you imagine? A former president of the United States saying that. The whole world heard it, and the worst thing is he means it. No other president in history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator. Let me say this as clearly as I can: I never will. For God’s sake, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous, it’s un-American.”
The NATO treaty requires that if one member nation is attacked, the other members will aid in their defense. The only time the clause has been invoked was after the 9/11 attack. Biden said that Trump views NATO as a “burden, and doesn’t see the alliance that protects America and the world.” He added that Russian leaders likely “cheered” when they heard Trump’s comments, saying: “As long as I’m president, if Putin attacks a NATO ally, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Since his remarks Saturday at a rally in South Carolina. Trump has faced backlash. The former president said he would urge Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” if it attacked a NATO country that didn’t contribute enough toward the alliance’s defense spending: “Let’s say that happened. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want, you got to pay your bills.”
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