A reevaluation of NATO

Defense &National Security

A reevaluation of NATO

The U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) indicated President Trump is “reevaluating” the country’s membership in the alliance.

“I think that it’s very clear right now that President Trump is evaluating and reevaluating everything,” Matt Whitaker told Newsmax. “Whether that is our involvement with NATO, whether that is our support to the European effort in Ukraine or whether that is anything else the United States is doing.”

Whitaker said that the president has not made a final decision on whether the U.S. should remain in NATO. 

“We’re going to move out on his intent when he makes a decision,” Whitaker said. “Right now, everything’s on the table.”

And late Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the U.S. will take another look at its role in NATO after the conflict with Iran ends. 

“I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to reexamine whether or not this Alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose, or is it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our Allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights and they’re going to deny us overflight,” Rubio told host Sean Hannity on Fox News.

The president teased the idea of leaving NATO in an interview with The Telegraph published on Wednesday, saying it’s “beyond reconsideration.”

“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin knows that too, by the way,” Trump said.

The U.S. is one of the 12 founding members of NATO, since its creation in 1949. The alliance has 32 member countries, mostly concentrated in Europe. 

Trump has repeatedly accused European allies for not doing enough to support his administration’s military operations against Iran. On Tuesday, he criticized the United Kingdom and France for their reluctance to aid the U.S. in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping corridor that has been effectively closed during the war.

The president has previously pulled the U.S. out of other international agreements. 

But Trump will likely run into roadblocks should he attempt to take the U.S. out of NATO. Any sitting U.S. president cannot withdraw from the alliance without Senate approval, according to a bipartisan measure passed in 2023.

Read the full report at thehill.com.

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The Center for American Progress will host a conversation on “The Trump ‘war tax’: The economic cost of the Iran war,” tomorrow at 2 p.m.

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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow! 

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