Donald Trump said on March 20 that his remarks downplaying his commitment to NATO were just a "negotiating tactic" to get member countries to pay more for the alliance's collective defence.
Trump, who is running for re-election, regularly criticizes NATO, but in February he delivered his most extreme criticism yet, saying he would "encourage" Russia to attack members who have defaulted on their financial obligations.
The comments prompted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to urge it not to "undermine" the collective security of members.
The former GOP president's attitude to NATO became topical in an interview with Britain's GB News network when host Nigel Farage noted that critics had pointed to his Russia remarks to oppose the controversial tycoon's re-election.
"They can use it — I don't care if they use it — because what I'm saying is that it's a form of negotiation," Trump said.
"Why should we guard these countries that have a lot of money, and the United States paid for most of NATO?"
Trump, 77, has long complained about NATO, accusing the 28 European members in particular of failing to keep up with military spending, taking for granted that they can rely on the United States as a protective shield.
But he has never shown that he understands how NATO funding works, instead mischaracterizing it as a membership-based club.
In 2006, NATO countries made an ambiguous commitment - formalized in 2014 - to spend two per cent of their gross domestic product on their defence, but members do not pay membership fees or "owe" the alliance any defence money.
This indicator is voluntary, and NATO's founding treaty does not provide for sanctions for its non-fulfilment.
"I think the United States was paying 90 per cent of the cost of NATO, the cost of NATO. It could have been 100 per cent. It was the most unfair thing," Trump told GB News.
"And remember, it's more important to them than to us. We have an ocean between some problems, okay? We have a nice, big, beautiful ocean, and it's more important to them."
Outside NATO, allies are also concerned about the United States' continued support for Ukraine, which is seen as vital to sustaining the war effort against Russia.
Trump - who has often boasted he could end the two-year war on his first day in office - told GB News he would be able to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I get along great with Putin... This is a good thing, not a bad thing," he said./BGNES
