President Donald Trump will deliver a landmark televised address at 9pm ET on Wednesday outlining his “disgust” with NATO and threatening American withdrawal from the transatlantic alliance that has anchored Western security since 1949.
The President confirmed he is “absolutely” considering pulling the United States from the 32-nation bloc, characterising it as a “paper tiger” that adversaries do not take seriously following European allies’ refusal to join military operations against Iran.
“I’ll be discussing my disgust with NATO,” Mr Trump told Reuters, adding when asked about potential withdrawal: “Oh, absolutely without question. Wouldn’t you do that if you were me?”
The dramatic escalation follows weeks of transatlantic tensions over the Iran conflict, with France’s Emmanuel Macron condemning American strikes as “outside of international law” whilst Britain’s Sir Keir Starmer declared it “not our war.”
Italy and Spain have barred US warplanes from landing at military bases or traversing their airspace as Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade sends global oil prices soaring, with European capitals uniformly rejecting Washington’s demands they participate in combat operations or independently seize control of the strategic waterway.
Mr Trump told allies they should either purchase American crude or “go to the Strait and just take it,” expressing bewilderment at NATO’s reluctance to assist reopening the waterway through which 20 per cent of global oil ordinarily transits daily.
“Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. I just think it should be automatic,” the President stated. “We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them. [NATO] weren’t there for us.”
In a separate Telegraph interview, Mr Trump declared his NATO scepticism extends beyond recent events: “I would say it’s beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
The President specifically targeted Britain, claiming the Royal Navy lacks capability to fight effectively. “You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work,” he stated.
Sir Keir responded hours later by defending NATO as “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen,” whilst reiterating Britain would act solely in its national interest. “This is not our war, and we’re not going to get dragged into it,” the Prime Minister stated.
American withdrawal from NATO would represent the most significant reconfiguration of Western defence architecture since the alliance’s founding during the Cold War’s earliest days, potentially leaving European nations militarily isolated whilst emboldening adversaries including Russia and China.
Wednesday’s primetime address follows unsuccessful American lobbying attempts to persuade European allies to join the Iran campaign, with the President’s frustration apparently reaching breaking point as oil and gas prices continue climbing due to Tehran’s blockade.
