Following the launch of military action in Iran on February 28, US President Donald Trump has has called US partners “cowards” and condemned NATO as “a paper tiger”
US President Donald Trump has again lashed out at NATO allies for what he views as a lack of support.
Speaking at a Turning Point event in Arizona on Friday, April 17, Trump said during his keynote speech that his country has to rely on itself.
Trump said: “If NATO teaches us any one thing, and I hope you all watched because they weren’t there for us, if it teaches us any one thing: we have to rely on ourselves.”
“We can’t rely on outside countries and outside sources.”
Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO allies for not assisting the US war in Iran in the manner he would have deemed fit. The Mirror previously reported that the Trump administration was considering a plan to punish some members of the NATO alliance that it believes were unhelpful to the US and Israel during the Iran war.
The US and Israel carried out joint strikes on several key Iranian sites since February 28 and Iran responded by attacking several sites across the Middle East, plunging the region into chaos, disrupting air travel and rocking global markets.
Following the launch of military action in Iran, the president has lambasted US partners as “cowards” and condemned NATO as “a paper tiger”.
He amplified his hostile language toward NATO following resistance from multiple alliance nations to his demands for reopening the critical Strait of Hormuz trade route, through which 20% of global oil traded passes, in an attempt to stabilise surging worldwide oil costs.
Iran and the US have entered into a short-term ceasefire agreement, but peace negotiations last week failed to yield a long-term solution.
Trump added during his speech at the Turning Point event on Friday: “Most people, you know this recent situation, they wanted to do it, but they said, ‘Let’s not get involved.’ Sometimes you have to get involved.”
“You have no choice but to get involved.”
NATO, a 32-member alliance, was formed in 1949 to counter the risk of Soviet attack. It now focusses protecting ally counties by promising that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. It has been the cornerstone of the West’s security.
Concerns have intensified that Trump may be preparing to withdraw from the alliance.
The president held a closed-door discussion with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week, which Rutte characterized to CNN as “very frank” and “very open”, though significant differences emerged, The Mirror US reported.
Despite this, Trump took his grievances to social media, writing on Truth Social a few days before his speech at the Turning Point event: “NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
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