ABC News(WASHINGTON) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump drew swift rebukes from both sides of the political spectrum, as well as the top sitting NATO official, for his declaration that, if he were president, the United States would defend fellow NATO countries only if the countries in question were contributing their fair share to NATO’s budget.
“We’re talking about countries that are doing very well. Then yes, I would be absolutely prepared to tell those countries, ‘Congratulations, you will be defending yourself,’” Trump said during an interview with the New York Times, adding he would only defend countries that had “fulfilled their obligations to us” financially.
Two members of his own party, neither of whom is attending the Republican convention, condemned his comments, suggesting Congress would not follow his lead if he were commander-in-chief.
“As Mr. [Vladimir] Putin revives Soviet-style aggression and the threat of violent Islam looms over European and American cities, the United States stands with our NATO allies,” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, one of the most vocal elected members of the never-Trump movement, said in a statement.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, one of Trump’s former Republican primary opponents, accused him of appeasing the Russian president with his assertions.
“I can only imagine how our allies in NATO, particularly the Balkan states, must feel after reading these comments from Mr. Trump. I’m 100 percent certain how Russian President Putin feels — he’s a very happy man,” Graham said.
“If Mr. Trump is serious about wanting to be commander-in-chief he needs to better understand the job which is to provide leadership for the United States and the free world,” Graham continued, also calling for Trump to “correct” his statements during his prime-time address Thursday evening.
Members of the Democratic Party also slammed Trump’s remarks, accusing him of friendliness with the same unsavory leaders with whom Republicans have accused President Obama of being too conciliatory.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest noted that Republicans have long accused President Obama of going on an “global apology tour.”
“I guess that means that there is some irony associated with the case that’s being made by the Republican nominee at this point,” he said.
The Hillary Clinton campaign condemned Trump’s remarks, also accusing him of cozying up to Putin.
“Over the course of this campaign, Trump has displayed a bizarre and occasionally obsequious fascination with Russia’s strongman, Vladimir Putin. And he has policy positions — and advisors — to match,” Clinton senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said, citing a Washington Post report that Trump staffers persuaded delegates to strip language from the GOP platform that would have called for “providing lethal defensive weapons” to the Ukrainian military.
The White House has declined to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, but mainstream Republicans have long called for the president to do so.
“Just this week, we learned that the Trump campaign went to great lengths to remove a plank from the GOP platform about aid to Ukraine that would have offended Putin, bucking a strongly held position within his own party…. It is fair to assume that Vladimir Putin is rooting for a Trump presidency.”
Although NATO does not frequently comment on issues related to member nations’ domestic politics, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s sitting secretary general, also weighed in on Trump’s comments, defending European allies’ contributions to NATO while avoiding commenting on the election directly.
“European Allies are also stepping up,” he said. “For the first time in many years, defense spending among European Allies and Canada rose last year.”
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