LONDON: US President Donald Trump expressed confidence in Britain’s willingness to defend the United States but cast doubt on the European Union’s reliability in a military alliance.
His remarks, made in a BBC interview, highlighted his scepticism toward NATO members despite their pledged defence spending increases.
Trump questioned NATO’s mutual defence commitment, stating, “One of the problems with NATO, as I said, we have to fight for them, but will they actually fight for us if we had a war?”
He added, “I believe that the UK would fight with us. I think that they would be with us. I’m not sure that a lot of the other countries would be.”
This stance influenced his trade policy, with Trump granting Britain exemptions from tariffs while threatening a 30% levy on EU goods.
He explained, “Look, that’s why I made a deal with them, and I haven’t made a deal, I mean, I’ve made some other deals, but for the most part, in terms of your competitors, and in terms of the European Union, I haven’t made a deal.”
NATO’s Article 5, which mandates collective defence, was invoked only once—after the 9/11 attacks on the US. British forces supported American military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, though the UK’s military capacity has since diminished. - Reuters
