Donald Trump, once again, said he was “very disappointed” in NATO member countries today while fielding questions from reporters in Ankara. During a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump repeated his frustration with the alliance, stating that if the NATO summit “weren’t held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended.”
Trump Criticizes Allies for Staying Out of Iran Conflict
Trump also criticized member states for their decision to stay out of the conflict with Iran. “We weren’t treated well,” the US president said. “I didn’t even want their help, as they said they wouldn’t be there, we’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO to protect European countries and others.” He specifically named Italy, Germany, and France as having turned down requests to participate.
Testing Loyalty of NATO Allies
Trump explained his remarks as a test: “I was testing people, I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there. Because I’ve long said that we help them, but I’m not sure that they’d be there for us.” He added, “Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it’s OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and they’re not there for us? We’ve always been there for them.”
UK Prime Minister's Decision on Airbases
Trump also commented on outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s belated decision to allow US forces to use UK airbases for “defensive” strikes on Iran, calling it “a very unpopular thing.” However, in reality, several other factors – not the Middle East conflict – had dented Starmer’s standing in the UK.
