Trump Calls NATO a "Paper Tiger"...Considers Withdrawal

Interview with The Telegraph

U.S. President Donald Trump is strongly considering withdrawing from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to a report by the British daily The Telegraph on March 31 (local time).

U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by Yonhap News

In an interview with The Telegraph, President Trump was asked if he would reconsider maintaining NATO membership after the war with Iran. He replied, "Yes. I would say we've gone beyond the stage of reconsideration." He added, "I have never been influenced by NATO," and continued, "I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows it too."

President Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO’s European allies for not actively supporting the U.S. attack on Iran and for refusing to dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iran has virtually blockaded the strait.

President Trump said, "It was hard to believe," adding, "I wasn't trying particularly hard to persuade them; I just said 'over there' and didn't insist much." He continued, "I thought support from allies should be automatic." He went on to say, "We were automatically there, including in Ukraine. Ukraine was not our problem. It was a kind of test, and we were there for them. They were not there for us," he added.

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