Trump to Pull US Out of NATO? Secretary of State Calls It “Hysteria”

The United States does not want to abandon NATO at all, on the contrary, it is engaged in the North Atlantic Alliance like never before, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued in Brussels. Rubio called speculations about Trump’s intentions regarding NATO and voices saying that he has already betrayed and left European partners to their own devices “hysteria spread by the media”.

Marco Rubio said in Brussels that Donald Trump does not want to take the US out of NATO and is only interested in increasing defense spending
Can Donald Trump take the United States out of NATO? Speculation on this topic continues in connection with the behavior of the US president, which may worry at least some NATO countries. For example, he stated that he will not defend those European partners in the Alliance who do not spend enough on defense . “It’s common sense: they don’t pay, I will not defend them,” Trump said. Recently, the Moscow Times reported that Trump is even supposedly considering conducting military exercises only with those NATO partners in Europe who meet these financial requirements. This does not actually mean leaving NATO, but is a relativization of his actions. Despite this, the US Secretary of State assured in Brussels that Donald Trump does not want to leave the ranks of the Alliance at all, but only presses partners to spend more on defense , so that NATO is “stronger and more profitable.” Rubio called speculation about Trump’s intentions regarding NATO and voices saying that he has already betrayed and left European partners to their own devices “hysteria spread in the media.”

We want to leave here knowing that we are on (…) a realistic path to ensuring that each member commits and fulfils the promise of achieving spending of up to 5% of GDP”
As Marco Rubio assured, America does not expect that every NATO country will immediately provide 5 percent of GDP for defense, but “this path must be realistic”. “We want to leave here knowing that we are on (…) a realistic path to every member committing and fulfilling their promise to reach 5 percent (of GDP). This includes the United States” – added the US Secretary of State. “The events of the last few years, the full-scale ground war in the heart of Europe, are a reminder that hard power is still necessary as a deterrent” – he said, convincing to spend more money on the military.