How Donald Trump’s re-election would threaten NATO’s Article 5

Editor’s note (February 14th 2024): This piece was updated after Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general, announced that 18 of the alliance’s 31 members would meet its 2% of GDP defence-spending target in 2024.

AS PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP made no secret of his dislike of NATO. In 2018, at a summit of the military alliance, he threatened that America would “go its own way” if other members did not increase their defence spending. He is said often to have talked privately about leaving NATO. But on February 10th, at a rally in South Carolina, Mr Trump went further. He claimed, no doubt apocryphally, that the “president of a big country” asked him: “Well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia—will you protect us?” Mr Trump says he replied: “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent... No, I would not protect you. In fact I would encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want.”