Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reiterated that the United States would only help protect NATO members from a future attack by Russia if its European members spent more on defense, Reuters reports.
In an interview with Britain's right-leaning GB News that was released on Tuesday (March 19), Trump repeated remarks that triggered an uproar both at home and abroad last month. The former president told a campaign rally that he would encourage Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to a NATO member if it wasn't spending enough on defense.
Trump has frequently taken aim at the failure of many of NATO's 32 members to meet a defense spending target of at least 2% of gross domestic product. The U.S. military forms the core of the alliance's military power. NATO estimates have shown that only 11 members are spending at the target level.
Asked if the U.S. would defend NATO allies if they started to "pay their bills properly," said, "Yes. But the United States should pay its fair share, not everybody else's fair share."
"So if they start to play fair, America's there?" interviewer Nigel Farage asked.
"Yes. 100 percent," Trump replied.
