In an unique interview with The Telegraph final week, Mr Trump mentioned he was strongly contemplating pulling the US out of Nato.
“Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger,” he mentioned. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, “knows that too, by the way”, he added.
Ms Leavitt’s feedback got here a day after Mr Trump introduced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, topic to the regime reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The president has lengthy had a fractious relationship with Nato, repeatedly claiming the US has been “ripped off” by member states who refused to meet defence spending targets.
However, he has been mollified by Mr Rutte’s diplomacy, and the truth that all Nato allies, with the exception of Spain, have agreed to spend 5 per cent of their GDP on defence.
Mr Trump has repeatedly mentioned he wouldn’t defend allies who go away the burden of navy spending to the US. During the 2024 presidential election, he mentioned he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to international locations who didn’t meet their obligations.
Nato has confronted repeated crises since Mr Trump returned to energy final 12 months, most acutely when he threatened to annex the island of Greenland from Denmark, an alliance member.
