Trump says Russia can do what it wants to Nato allies who pay too little

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Donald Trump said he had warned Nato allies that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” if alliance members failed to meet defence spending targets, highlighting the risk to the military pact if he wins a new term in the White House.

Trump’s comments came during a campaign rally ahead of the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina this month, which could help him to seal his party’s nomination to contest the November election against Joe Biden.

The former US president, who has long been a critic of Nato and who had warm relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin, told his supporters that “Nato was busted until I came along”. He said that during his term in office he had insisted to European allies that “everybody’s going to pay”.

Trump recalled that one president of a Nato member country had asked him if the US would defend it in the event of a Russian attack.

“I would not protect you,” Trump said he responded. “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You’ve got to pay. You’ve got to pay your bills,” he remembered saying.

Trump’s comments are a signal that, if elected president again, he might threaten the commitment to mutual defence that lies at the heart of the Nato alliance, at a time when fears of Russia have sharply increased in the wake of its war against Ukraine. The former president has recently pressed Congress to oppose the approval of new aid to Kyiv, which would be crucial on the battlefield.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s defence minister, criticised Trump’s comments on Sunday. “Nato’s motto “one for all, all for one” is a concrete commitment. No election campaign is an excuse for playing with the security of the alliance,” he said in a post on X.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary-general, has said he expects…