John Bolton and Donald Trump
Former national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, John Bolton, suspected him of wanting to leave NATO if he was re-elected. He stated this in an interview with Times Radio Thursday, Politico reports.
“It's not that we convinced him that NATO is actually a pretty good alliance, he just saw that he could not cross the line and call for a withdrawal of troops,” Bolton said. In his opinion, if Trump is elected for a second term, the “political barrier” that prevents him from leaving the alliance will significantly decrease.
In September, ex-officials of the presidential administration spoke about Trump's desire to withdraw the United States from NATO if he won the presidential election. It was noted that in the summer of 2018, during the summit of leaders of NATO member states, the American leader told his national security adviser that he saw no point in the existence of the alliance and suggested that the United States withdraw from it.
Trump has repeatedly criticized member states for insufficient military spending. According to the American leader, instead of the established two percent, NATO countries should allocate four percent of GDP for military needs. The US spends 3.58 percent of its GDP on NATO – more than anyone else.
