Trump questions whether NATO would defend us, but 1,000 allies were killed in the war against terror
President Donald Trump questioned Thursday if NATO allies would go to the help of the United States in case of an attack.
“Do you think they will come and protect us? They are supposed to do it. I’m not so sure, “Trump said as he took the questions from journalists after signing executive orders in the oval office.
Except that it is not hypothetical: in fact, the NATO article 5 clause has been invoked only once in the 76 years of history of the Alliance, and that was on September 12, 2001, the day after Al Qaeda killed almost 3,000 people on US soil.
After 20 years of war, most of those killed in the coalition were Americans, but more than 1,000 of them were international partners.
Article 5 is a central principle of the alliance and dictates that an armed attack against any member should be considered an attack against all.
President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on March 6, 2025.
Mandel and/AFP
Trump’s comments occurred after he again suggested that the United States could not help NATO allies if they do not pay enough for the defense.
“Are you going to do that policy, the policy of the United States, that the United States would not defend NATO countries that do not pay?” A journalist asked him directly.
“Well, I think it’s common sense, right?” Trump replied. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them. No, I’m not going to defend them. I put a lot of heat when I said that. You said: ‘Oh, he’s violating NATO'”.
He continued: “You know, the biggest problem I have with NATO, really, you know, I mean, I know the boys very well. They are my friends. But if the United States was in trouble and we called them, we said, we have a problem, France. We have a problem, some of the others I will not mention. Do you think they will come and protect ourselves? I am not sure. I am not sure.
Rhetoric is not new for Trump. In the 2024 campaign, it was news for stating that “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever they want” to NATO allies who do not spend enough defense funds.
