Conservatives Divided on Trump’s NATO Remarks
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Former President Donald Trump’s remarks that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members who “don’t pay” prompted divided reactions from Republican leaders.
Key Quotes: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told CNN (Lean Left bias) he had “zero concern” about Trump’s remarks, because “he’s been president before. I know exactly what he has done and will do with the NATO alliance. But there has to be an alliance. It’s not America’s defense with a bunch of small junior partners.” On the other hand, GOP presidential candidate and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley said Trump’s remarks lacked “moral clarity,” “should send a chill up everyone’s spine,” and made “Joe Biden look sane.”
For Context: Congressional Republicans are in the midst of a legislative battle over a standalone aid package for Israel and Ukraine. Some, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), are joining Democrats in supporting the aid package; others, like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), oppose it.
How the Media Covered It: News coverage was sometimes contradictory, highlighting Republicans who criticized Trump’s remarks, supported them, or both. Meanwhile, several writers rated Lean Right by AllSides wrote op-eds in outlets across the spectrum criticizing Trump for purportedly harming NATO’s deterrence capabilities. Outlets associated with Trump’s brand of conservatism tended not to publish opinions on Trump’s remarks.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Republicans blast Trump over threat to abandon NATO alliesSome of former President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans on Sunday lashed out at him for saying he would not want to protect NATO members from a future attack by Russia if those countries' contributions to the defense alliance were lagging.
"This is why I've been saying for a long time that he's unfit to be president of the United States," former Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
During a political rally on Saturday in South Carolina, Trump complained about what he...
From the Right
‘Lacking Moral Clarity’: Haley Hits Trump for Threatening to Abandon NATO AlliesNikki Haley accused Donald Trump of “lacking moral clarity” after the former president said he would not protect NATO countries from hypothetical Russian attacks if they fail to spend enough on their defense pact.
Trump said Saturday that he warned NATO allies during his first term that he “would encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to a member country that failed to reach the NATO target of spending at least 2 percent of their budget on the military.
Trump received swift criticism from his 2024 opponent and...
From the Left
G.O.P. Officials, Once Critical, Stand by Trump After NATO CommentsAfter Donald J. Trump suggested he had threatened to encourage Russia to attack “delinquent” NATO allies, the response among many Republican officials has struck three themes — expressions of support, gaze aversion or even cheerful indifference.
Republican Party elites have become so practiced at deflecting even Mr. Trump’s most outrageous statements that they quickly batted this one away. Mr. Trump, the party’s likely presidential nominee, had claimed at a Saturday rally in South Carolina that he once threatened a NATO government to meet its financial commitments — or else he...
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