President Donald Trump continued his criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a social media post late Tuesday night, seemingly criticizing the alliance for not assisting the U.S. in its military operations against Iran. It was a very short post with no context or details, simply stating that “NATO wasn’t there for us,” and expressing doubt about future assistance from the alliance.
“NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!” Trump said in his brief post.
The president’s comments came about a week after his meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. He made a similar post less than a week ago, echoing almost identical sentiments and adding a comment about Greenland.
“NATO wasn’t there when we needed them, and they won’t be there if we need them again,” Trump posted on April 8. “Remember Greenland, that big, poorly run, piece of ice!!!”
Trump has long expressed his frustration with NATO, regularly criticizing the alliance for not doing its fair share in defense spending. Recently, his ire has turned to NATO countries’ refusal to help the U.S. with Iran, denying the use of military bases and airspace. Trump has also lamented about NATO’s refusal to help with Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has led to fuel prices skyrocketing around the world.
In response, Trump was even more critical of NATO, calling it a “paper tiger” and suggesting that the U.S. might leave NATO after the war with Iran.
“Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration,” Trump said in an interview with The Telegraph on April 1. “I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
Trump’s latest social media post about NATO also came after the Wall Street Journal reported that Europe is working on a contingency plan for the alliance if Trump follows through on his tease to withdraw the U.S. from it.
“The officials working on the plans, which some officials are referring to as ‘European NATO,’ are seeking to get more Europeans into the alliance’s command-and-control roles and supplement U.S. military assets with their own,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Additionally, tension with NATO has even appeared to affect his relationship with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, once considered one of the president’s strongest allies in Europe. Meloni has split with Trump over the war with Iran and the president’s recent comments about Pope Leo XIV.
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First, in March, she categorized the U.S. strikes against Iran as “outside” of international law and that her country “did not intend to take part” in the war. Regarding Trump’s criticism of the pope, Meloni called the comments “unacceptable” and expressed her “solidarity with Pope Leo.”
Meloni’s comments prompted Trump to publicly criticize her for the first time during his term. He expressed disappointment with the Italian prime minister, saying he was “shocked” by her comments. In his strongest criticism of Meloni, Trump questioned her political courage.
“I’m shocked by her,” the president said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday. “I thought she was brave; I was wrong.”
“Meloni doesn’t want to help us with NATO; she doesn’t want to help us get rid of the nuclear weapons,” said Trump. “She’s very different from what I thought.”
