Former senior administration official hints at negative impact on ROK-US alliance
Trump renews pressure to increase defense spending as he seeks re-election
Amid the backlash surrounding former U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks that he would encourage Russia to attack if North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies do not pay for their defense costs, senior officials in the former administration said that if he is re-elected, he would “encourage NATO” He predicted that he would withdraw from the group.
According to CNN on the 12th (local time), former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who served as a staff member during the Trump administration, said this in an interview in CNN anchor Jim Shooter’s book ‘The Return of Great Powers’, which is scheduled to be published in March. .
Former Chief of Staff Kelly said that former President Trump did not attach any meaning to NATO, and that this disdain for security pledges also applies to mutual defense agreements with South Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, Kelly claimed, “Trump was opposed to the stationing of U.S. troops in Korea and Japan as a deterrent.”
“Former President Trump thought (Vladimir) Putin and Kim Jong-un were nice people and that we were pushing North Korea into a corner,” Kelly said. “He said that if NATO had not existed, Putin would not have done this (invasion of Ukraine).” “I saw it,” he said.
Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton also predicted, “NATO will be in real danger,” and “He will attempt to withdraw from NATO.”
Former President Trump said in a speech in Conway, South Carolina on the 10th, “NATO was broken before I showed up,” and “I said (to NATO allies), ‘Everyone is going to have to pay.’”
He then posted on the social media site TruthSocial on the 12th, saying, “We are helping Ukraine with more than $100 billion more than NATO,” and added, “(The United States and) NATO must remain equal.”
As the controversy spread, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “I want to say that the NATO alliance provides real security to American citizens,” and added, “It is not just a benefit, nor is it just an alliance that the United States has formed. “We gain a lot from this alliance,” he protested.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.