Donald Trump, a U.S presidential candidate, said on Saturday that he would “encourage” Russia to attack NATO countries who had not met their financial responsibilities, his most harsh statement yet against the military organization he has long criticized.
With U.S senators discussing extra aid for Ukraine ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the former president has frequently stated that it is unjust to bind the US to defending NATO’s 30 other member nations.
Speaking at a campaign event in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump detailed a chat with a fellow head of state at an unidentified NATO summit.
Trump’s remark comes after Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected a bipartisan bill that would have included sorely needed new funding for Ukraine, plus aid for ally Israel, along with reforms to address the US-Mexico border crisis.
The White House hit back at Trump’s assertions, touting President Joe Biden’s efforts to bolster alliances around the globe.
“Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement Saturday night.
“Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership,” Bates added.
The Senate bill’s death highlighted Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party, as its lawmakers acceded to the former president’s calls to torpedo any deal in order to deny Biden a win on immigration ahead of November’s election.
At the rally Saturday, Trump celebrated the collapse of the legislation, vowing that, if reelected, he would carry out a massive “deportation operation” on his first day in office.
Trump — whose first presidential campaign featured a central plank of building a “big, beautiful wall” on the US-Mexico border — on Saturday declared that deporting migrants would be one of his first tasks.
The Senate is now considering a foreign aid package that decouples the aid from the border issue entirely.
The $95 billion package set to be debated next week includes funding for Israel’s fight against Hamas militants and for key strategic ally Taiwan.
The lion’s share, however, would help Ukraine restock depleted ammunition supplies, weapons and other crucial needs as it enters a third year of war.
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