I’ll encourage Russia to attack NATO allies who do not pay their bills, Trump says

FAmerican President, Donald Trump has said he would encourage Russia to attack any NATO member that fails to pay its bills as part of the Western military alliance.

At a rally at the weekend, he said he had once told a leader he would not protect a nation behind on its payments, and would encourage the aggressors to do whatever the hell they want.

Members of NATO commit to defend any nation in the bloc that gets attacked. The White House called the comments "appalling and unhinged".

Addressing crowds during the rally in South Carolina, Trump said he had made his comments about Russia during a meeting of leaders of NATO countries. He recalled that the leader of a big country had presented a hypothetical situation in which he was not meeting his financial obligations within NATO and had come under attack from Moscow.

Trump said the leader had asked if America would come to his country's aid in that scenario, which prompted him to issue a rebuke.

A White House spokesman said the former president was encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes, and labelled the comments appalling and unhinged. The spokesman added that the statement endangers

American national security, global stability and our economy at home.

Trump, the favourite to run again as the Republican candidate in this year's America presidential election, has long been critical of NATO and what he sees as an excessive financial burden on the United States to guarantee the defence of 30 other nations.

Russia launched its fullscale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after Trump left office. He has since bemoaned the amount of American money sent to Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

America has provided Ukraine with more financial support than any other country totaling more than $ 44bn (£ 34bn) since the 2022 invasion, according to White House figures from December.

However, Republicans in Congress have since the turn of the year blocked all new funding demanding tough measures to restrict migration into America on its southern border, and then refusing the amended bill when it was presented earlier this week.

Trump celebrated that rejection during last Saturday's rally, saying the proposals made by President Biden had been disastrous.

The two issues have now been successfully separated, meaning that senators are now able to debate the aid money separately.