"Another bluff": Officials see no signs of Trump's NATO rhetoric turning into action

Diplomats from NATO countries, congressional aides, and Pentagon officials see no signs that US President Donald Trump's rhetoric on NATO is turning into action, Politico reports, writes UNN.

Details

"The war with Iran again threatens to unravel the NATO alliance. But despite all the threats and anger of President Donald Trump about allies refusing to help in the US military campaign, his rhetoric has not yet been accompanied by any signs of concrete action," the publication states.

Diplomats from NATO countries, congressional aides, and defense officials say that "the administration has not held the necessary discussions to withdraw from the nearly eighty-year-old alliance."

According to two NATO diplomats, "the US has not initiated any debates within NATO or issued specific directives regarding Washington's role in the alliance." The Trump administration "has not informed Capitol Hill of an impending withdrawal," according to a senior Senate aide. And "there are no discussions in the Pentagon about the US withdrawing from the alliance," a defense official said.

"There's no evidence that this is real," an aide said.

At the same time, the publication notes that the path to withdrawing from NATO would be fraught with legal obstacles and would likely face outrage from hardline defense policy supporters in Congress, who argue that the president must abide by a 2023 law requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate before the US withdraws from NATO.

Trump's loud words "rarely translate into a structural break with NATO," one NATO diplomat said. "Let's not forget that the alliance still serves core US strategic interests," he noted.

Some allies, who have watched Trump wield American influence, weighing in on the acquisition of Greenland and demanding that Europeans buy American weapons, wonder if his comments contradict an attempt to gain assistance in ending Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US president's rhetoric was intended to "compel NATO allies to some visible action," including French and British assistance with the strait, a second NATO diplomat said.

Trump's threat looked like "another bluff," the first official said, and fit a pattern of increased US pressure on Europe during crises.

But Trump's latest rhetoric on America's involvement in NATO has been extreme even by his standards, the publication writes.

Rutte goes to Washington after Trump's threats to withdraw from NATO02.04.26, 08:46 • 2380 views

Just hours after such a statement, Finnish President Alexander Stubb — one of Trump's key European whisperers — said he had called the US president and had a "constructive discussion."

"President Trump has made clear his frustration with NATO and other allies," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. "And, as the president emphasized, 'the United States will remember.'"

Trump's latest comments led to a swift reaction, including a bipartisan statement from Senators Mitch McConnell (Republican) and Chris Coons (Democrat), who emphatically stated that the US "will remain" in NATO and called the alliance the most successful defense pact "in history."

Other leading lawmakers pointed to the limitations they had established, that withdrawing the US from NATO would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate or a separate act of Congress.

Rutte goes to Washington after Trump's threats to withdraw from NATO02.04.26, 08:46 • 2380 views