According to reports from the television network, citing U.S. administration officials, Trump had been discussing policy changes favouring countries that meet defence spending requirements in conversations with his advisors.
“As part of a potential policy shift, the United States may choose not to defend a NATO member state that comes under attack if that country fails to meet the required defence spending threshold,”
the network reported.
Another element of the policy would involve repositioning U.S. forces in the region, concentrating them around countries that have increased their military expenditures. A similar principle might also be applied to joint military exercises with NATO states.
Such an approach has previously been publicly suggested multiple times by both Trump and members of his administration. The president has frequently referenced an incident from his first term when he reportedly told the leader of a NATO member state that was “delinquent in payments” that the U.S. would not defend them against Russia. However, he later clarified that he made this statement to pressure countries into increasing their defence spending.
Commenting on the television report, a representative of the National Security Council stated only that President Trump remains committed to NATO and to Article 5, which stipulates the defence of allied nations under attack.