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Joe Biden (on February 7th)
Photo: Evelyn Hockstein / REUTERS
The election campaign is getting underway in the USA, and the tone is becoming increasingly harsh. While the Republicans are working on Joe Biden's age and supposed unsuitability for the presidency, Donald Trump is trumpeting worrying announcements about the USA's NATO course under his reign. The next replica from the White House is now available - and it's quite something.
US President Biden criticized his predecessor Trump's recent statements about NATO in the harshest terms. "For God's sake, that's stupid, that's shameful, that's dangerous, that's un-American," Biden said on Tuesday. He was referring to Trump's announcement that he would not grant protection from Russia to NATO partners who do not meet their financial obligations. “No other president in history has ever bowed to a Russian dictator,” criticized Biden. "I will never do that."
Trump, who wants to challenge Biden in the next presidential election in November and run again for the Republicans, said during a campaign appearance at the weekend that the "president of a great country" once asked him whether the USA would still protect this country from Russia would if it did not pay defense spending. He replied: "No, I wouldn't protect you." In fact, he would "even encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want."
Biden had already criticized the statement over the weekend, but has now followed up. “Can you imagine a former president of the United States saying that? The whole world heard it,” said the Democrat. "The worst thing about it is that he means it." For Trump, principles don't matter, Biden complained. "When he looks at NATO, he doesn't see the alliance that protects America and the world." Instead, Trump sees the alliance as a burden or as a means for demanding protection money.
As a defense alliance, NATO relies on the principle of deterrence, and Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is particularly relevant to this. It regulates the obligation of assistance in the alliance and states that an armed attack against one or more allies is viewed as an attack against all.
Biden recalled that this alliance case had only been triggered once in the history of NATO - and that was in support of America, after the terrorist attacks against the USA on September 11, 2001. The Democrat also emphasized once again that he stood by the obligation to provide assistance. and as long as he was president, the United States would defend every inch of NATO territory.
NATO and EU criticize – Trump follows up on claims
The outrage is not just great in the White House. Any suggestion that the states in the alliance would not defend each other undermines the security of all members, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg had also warned. And EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized Trump: The Western defense alliance "cannot be a military alliance 'à la carte' that depends on the whim of the US President," said Borrell. Trump's statements are "terrifying and dangerous."
As expected, Trump himself does not take the criticism to heart. On the contrary, the former US President now claims to have strengthened the defense alliance. “I made NATO strong,” the Republican wrote in capital letters on his social network Truth Social on Monday evening. When he told the countries that had not paid their fair share that they had to pay "otherwise they would not receive military protection from the USA," the money came in.
“After so many years of the United States paying the bill, this was a beautiful sight,” Trump continued. But now that he is no longer there to ask the partners to pay, their willingness to pay decreases again.
jok/dpa