President Donald Trump affirmed on Wednesday that the U.S. would ‘always be there for NATO,’ while accusing the alliance of not sharing the same commitment to aiding the U.S.
‘We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us,’ the president wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt underscored Trump’s statement of commitment to NATO during a briefing on Wednesday. When pressed further about the issue, she underscored the increase in NATO allies’ spending that occurred as a result of Trump’s push.
The president claimed responsibility for strengthening NATO, saying that his work has served as the main deterrence for China and Russia.
‘Without my involvement, Russia would have all of Ukraine right now. Remember, also, I single-handedly ended 8 wars, and Norway, a NATO member, foolishly chose not to give me the Noble Peace Prize. But that doesn’t matter! What does matter is that I saved millions of lives. Russia and China have zero fear of NATO without the United States, and I doubt NATO would be there for us if we really needed them. Everyone is lucky that I rebuilt our military in my first term, and continue to do so,’ Trump said.
The president’s remarks come as his administration works to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Additionally, Trump has faced some pushback from NATO allies in recent days over his renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland, something he has said is a matter of national security. It is unclear which issue was on his mind when he made the post.
The negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war remain active but have yet to reach the end stage of the deal-making process. On Tuesday, the U.K. and France signed a declaration pledging troops for Ukraine under a future peace deal and with security guarantees supported by the U.S. and allied partners.
The declaration was adopted in Paris by the Coalition of the Willing and sets out what leaders said was a framework for lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia set in international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.
A key U.S. role is outlined in plans for a continuous, U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, with contributions from partners. The U.S. would participate in a special commission to manage ceasefire breaches, attribute responsibility and determine solutions.
Meanwhile, NATO allies have expressed concern as Trump appeared to renew his push for the U.S. to take Greenland. The president told reporters on Air Force One that the U.S. needed the self-governing Danish territory for ‘national security’ reasons.
‘We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,’ Trump said.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday warned that Trump’s threats to annex Greenland could mean the end of NATO. Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2 in an interview that Trump’s threats about Greenland should be taken seriously. Since then, several world leaders, including those hailing from NATO-allied countries, have expressed concern about Trump’s remarks on Greenland.
While there are no clear plans in the works for annexing Greenland, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller insisted in a recent interview that ‘nobody’ would fight the U.S. over control of the island, Axios reported.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
