Trump: I made NATO strong, allies started paying because of me

Former US President Donald Trump has defended his role in NATO, stressing that he has made the alliance "strong".
Trump was widely criticized after he said in a speech that he would "encourage" Russia to attack NATO members who have defaulted on their financial obligations, in his most extreme stance against the military bloc.
"I MADE NATO STRONG and even Republicans who don't like me and radical left Democrats admit it," Trump wrote on Truth Social, using the acronym RINOS used by conservatives for critics in their own party: "Republicans in Name Only."
“I told the 20 countries that are not paying their fair share that they must PAY. I told them that without doing this, they would not receive the military protection of the United States. Then the money came. After all these years it was a beautiful sight."
Trump has long complained about NATO, accusing the European allies of not taking responsibility for military spending, taking for granted that they can rely on the US as a defensive shield.
In 2006, NATO countries made a vague commitment, formalized in 2014, to spend 2 percent of their GDP on their own defense, but members do not pay dues or "owe" the alliance any defense money.
The criterion is voluntary and NATO's founding treaty does not provide for sanctions for non-compliance.
At a campaign rally in South Carolina on Saturday, February 10, Trump described a conversation with another head of state at an unspecified NATO meeting:
"One of the presidents of a major country stood up and said, 'Well, sir, if we don't pay and we get attacked by Russia, will you protect us?' I said, 'You haven't paid, you're in arrears?' No, I wouldn't protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want."
President Joe Biden described the comments as "appalling and dangerous", warning that his predecessor, who is running for re-election, intended to give Russian leader Vladimir Putin "a green light for more war and violence".
Trump's remarks came after Senate Republicans last week rejected a bipartisan bill that included $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, plus aid to ally Israel, along with reforms to deal with the US-Mexico border crisis.
The foreign aid package, which includes Kiev's support but completely separates funding from the border issue, passed a key procedural vote in the US Senate, although Republicans are highly likely to block it from becoming law. /BGNES