Depending on the outcome of the presidential election, is there a risk of the USA withdrawing from NATO? The new head of the security alliance doesn’t believe that.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has “always found working with Donald Trump good.” “He knows what he wants,” the former Dutch head of government told ZDF’s “heute journal” on Monday evening. During his term as US President, Trump forced many NATO partners to invest two percent of their economic output in defense.
Rutte appeared on ZDF to be convinced that NATO could continue to count on the USA even if Trump won the US presidential election on Tuesday. “The USA stands behind NATO. Donald Trump stood and stands behind NATO. Kamala Harris stood and stands behind NATO,” said the former Dutch head of government.
Both Republicans and Democrats know that NATO not only serves the security of Europe, but also the security of the USA. And a president must ensure the security of his country, said the NATO chief. Both candidates are clear that this security is closely linked to NATO.
Trump’s statements in the past had raised doubts as to whether the USA would continue to fully support its commitment under his leadership. At times, Trump even threatened to withdraw the USA from the alliance.
During his previous presidency, Trump insisted that all NATO members meet a longstanding commitment to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense. When he took office in 2017, only four of the then 29 NATO states achieved this goal. This year, the alliance assumes that, given the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, 23 of the now 32 members will achieve the goal.
With regard to Germany, the chairman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marcus Faber (FDP), said in mid-October that the two percent share would no longer be enough. Rather, it needs to rise to three percent.
