Trump at odds with NATO’s defense
In an interview that aired Tuesday evening with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump appeared to suggest that the NATO mutual defense compact is confusing, particularly the question of why an American would have to defend a small country like Montenegro, which is more than 5,000 miles away.
Trump has long raised questions about the future of the United States’ commitment to NATO, a defense treaty which was established to stave off aggression from what was then the Soviet Union.
Montenegro joined the alliance in 2017, a year after Russia plotted a coup to overthrow Montenegro’s government and replace it with one that would be hostile toward NATO.
On Tuesday, Carlson asked Trump, “So, let’s say Montenegro — which joined last year — is attacked, why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack? Why is that?”
Trump immediately acknowledged the concern.
“I understand what you’re saying,” Trump said. “I’ve asked the same question.”
The answer, which Trump did not articulate in the interview, can be found in Article 5 of the treaty: If one NATO country is attacked, all NATO countries would be considered under attack as well and would join in defense.
The president continued, “Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people.”
He added, “They have very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in World War III, now I understand that — but that’s the way it was set up.”
Neither the White House nor Montenegro’s Embassy in Washington immediately responded to requests for comment.
Carlson interviewed Trump in Helsinki on Monday, after Trump met privately with President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
“By attacking Montenegro & questioning our obligations under NATO, the President is playing right into Putin’s hands,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump said, if president, he would not automatically defend NATO allies if they were attacked, for instance, by Russia. He said he would make a decision based on whether the attacked country had “fulfilled their obligations to us.”