Hillary Clinton warned at the Munich Security Conference that if former President Trump wins re-election, he may withdraw the U.S. from NATO, emphasizing that his intentions should be taken seriously.
Trump has previously criticized NATO members for not paying their fair share towards the budget.
“We have a long struggle ahead of us, and the obvious point to make about Donald Trump is take him literally and seriously,” Clinton said. “He means what he says. People did not take him literally and seriously in 2016. Now he is telling us what he intends to do, and people who try to wish it away, brush it away, are living in an alternative reality.”
“He will do everything he can to become an absolute authoritarian leader if given the opportunity to do so. And he will pull us out of NATO even though the Congress passed a resolution saying that he couldn’t without congressional support, because he will just not fund our obligations,” she said.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg expressed confidence in the U.S.’ commitment to the alliance, despite concerns over Trump’s remarks.
“The whole idea of NATO is that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance and as long as we stand behind that message together, we prevent any military attack on any ally,” Stoltenberg said.
“Any suggestion that we are not standing up for each other, that we are not going to protect each other, that does undermine the security of all of us,” she said.
Trump’s comments led to a push for member countries to confirm their contributions, with 18 out of 31 allies on track to meet the 2% GDP spending pledge.
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