Former national security adviser John Bolton says Donald Trump may have withdrawn from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in his second term, adding that Russian Vladimir Putin was “waiting” for the move.
Asked during a Washington Post Live event, how close Trump came to withdrawing the United States from NATO Bolton said, “Yeah, I had my heart in my throat at that NATO meeting. I didn’t know what the president would do. He called me up to his seat seconds before he gave his speech. And I said, ‘Look, go right up to the line, but don’t go over it.”
“I sat back down, I had no idea what he’d do. I thought he’d put his foot over it, but at least he didn’t withdraw then,” he continued. “In a second Trump term, I think he may well have withdrawn from NATO, and I think Putin was waiting for that.”
During his one term in office, Trump was NATO’s loudest critic. He saw the alliance as drain on the U.S. Treasury, and he has criticized America’s allies for not doing enough.
Senior administration officials told The New York Times in 2019 that Trump privately said he wanted to withdraw from NATO.
However, a Trump spokesperson attempted to rewrite history while responding to Bolton’s comments claiming: “President Trump led America into one of the most peaceful times in U.S. history. John Bolton is just mad he was fired.”
