In his conversations with his relatives, the President “repeatedly talked about the withdrawal” of the USA from the North Atlantic Alliance, the newspaper writes.
Some former u.s. officials and representatives of Washington’s allies fear that if re-elected to a second term, Donald Trump may decide to withdraw from naTo. An article published in The New York Times on September 3 said so.
According to the article, the U.S. leader has “repeatedly talked about the withdrawal” of the United States from the North Atlantic Alliance in conversations with his entourage.
“During the second presidential term he may have such an opportunity”, – stated the article.
The edition reminds that the memoirs of former national security assistant Trump John Bolton describe a case when the American leader allegedly allowed such an opportunity. A book by The New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt quotes former White House chief of staff John Kelly. He allegedly pointed out that he was dissuading Trump from leaving NATO. A newspaper source confirmed that Kelly had spoken about it in private conversations.
According to the paper, in light of this, “it seems more likely that Trump, inspired by re-election and perhaps surrounded by inexperienced national security assistants, may finally try to undermine or even terminate u.s. membership in naTo during his second term.
“As former u.s. officials warn, this move will be one of the most serious strategic shifts in many years and a major victory for russian president Vladimir Putin”, – the paper says.
According to the publication, concern about this possibility is growing among representatives of the countries that are allies of the United States.
“European diplomats are increasingly afraid to speak out on this topic because they are afraid to provoke Trump”, – the paper says. It notes that the U.S. president “now relies increasingly on less experienced advisors who are less inclined to argue with him.”
Trump has previously criticized many naTo countries repeatedly for not spending enough money on maintaining the alliance’s collective defense. The head of the White House has demanded that those nations increase defense spending to 2 percent of GDP. In July, Trump said he did not want the u.s. to withdraw from NATO.