On Saturday, Trump said that during his presidency, the leader of an unspecified NATO nation had asked him whether Washington would protect that or other countries in the event of a possible attack by Russia, if they do not meet their defense spending obligations. Trump responded he would not and would encourage Russia to "do whatever the hell they want," stressing that NATO members "got to pay."
"At the NATO summit in 2018, he came very close to withdrawing from NATO right there at the summit. So each of these comments, as he makes them now over six years, to me simply reinforces that the notion of withdrawing from NATO is very serious with him," Bolton told Politico on Tuesday.
By making such statements, Trump is seeking not to reinforce NATO, but to lay the foundation for leaving it, Bolton said, commenting on the fact that US citizens were not taking the former president's words seriously.
"When Trump complains that NATO allies are not spending enough on defense, he's not complaining to get them to strengthen NATO. He's using it to bolster his excuse to get out," he said, adding that the former US leader had no idea of how damaging the possible consequences of such a withdrawal could be.
The United States is the leader of the alliance, so its departure would be fatal for NATO's future, Bolton explained.