The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump is expected to discuss a potential U.S. withdrawal from NATO with Secretary General Mark Rutte, signaling escalating tensions between Washington and the alliance established in 1949 to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through collective defense.
The discussion comes amid Trump’s growing frustration with NATO allies over their response to the ongoing Iran conflict, particularly their reluctance to assist U.S. efforts tied to the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has sharply criticized NATO members in recent days, arguing that key allies have not done enough to support U.S. operations.
President Donald Trump has increasingly criticized NATO allies during his second term, but Wednesday’s remarks from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicating he may discuss a potential exit took the White House press corps by surprise.
As Mediaite reports:
After being asked, “On NATO, can you tell me, is the United States still considering withdrawing from NATO? Is that still a possibility?” Leavitt replied, “It’s something the president has discussed, and I think it’s something the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary General Rutte.”
“And perhaps you’ll hear directly from the president following that meeting later this afternoon,” she added.
Earlier in the same press conference, a reporter noted that some European allies have issued a joint statement saying, “our governments will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” before asking Leavitt, “What’s the administration’s reaction to that joint statement? Does that smooth things over when the president meets with NATO Secretary General a little bit later this afternoon?”
She replied:
I have a direct quote from the president of the United States on NATO, and I will share it with all of you: “They were tested, and they failed.” And I would add it’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks when it’s the American who have been funding their defense. As you know, President Trump will be meeting with Secretary Rutte in a couple of hours here at the White House, and I know he looks forward to having a very frank and candid conversation with him.
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of leaving NATO, particularly during disputes over defense spending and allied cooperation.
Trump voiced particularly sharp criticism of NATO last month, expressing frustration with what he sees as a lack of support from the alliance.
“One thing — we’re very disappointed, I’ll say it publicly — we are very disappointed with NATO, because NATO has done absolutely nothing. And I’ve always said, 25 years ago, and I was somebody that wasn’t a politician, but I was always involved in politics, and I understood politics, I said 25 years ago that NATO’s a paper tiger, but more importantly, that we’ll come to their rescue, but they will never come to ours,” he said.
Trump went on to argue that NATO allies have been slow to act, adding, “And I want you to remember that we said this. They didn’t come to our rescue. Now they all want to help. When they’re annihilated — the other side is annihilated — they said, ‘We’d love to send ships.’ They actually made a statement, a couple of them, that we want to get involved when the war is over. No, it’s supposed to get involved at the war’s beginning, or even before it begins.”
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