Trump says ‘we don’t have to be there for NATO’

MIAMI – Donald Trump said on Friday the United States does not “have to be there for NATO,” comments that again raised questions ​about the U.S. president’s commitment to the mutual defense provisions at the center of the transatlantic alliance.

Speaking to an investment forum ⁠in Miami on Friday night, Trump said he was upset that European ‌NATO countries had declined to provide material ​support to the U.S. as it nears the fourth week of its ongoing war on Iran.

European allies were not consulted by the U.S. on its decision to attack ⁠Iran late last month, and many ‌leaders in the alliance ‌opposed the action.

“We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, ⁠I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” Trump told the audience.

“That sounds like a breaking ‌story? Yes, sir. Is that ‌breaking news? I think we just have breaking news, but that’s the fact. I’ve been saying that. Why ⁠would we be there for them if they’re ​not there for us? ⁠They ​weren’t there for us.”

The president has had a famously on-again-off-again relationship with the alliance, and he has at various points made comments that provoked questions about ⁠his willingness to adhere to NATO’s Article 5, which states an attack against one member state is an attack on ⁠all.

On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump famously encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack European NATO countries that did not pay their fair share on ⁠defense.

His relationship with several European ‌leaders, however, appeared to improve over ​the course ‌of 2025.

But Washington-Brussels relations again soured in 2026 after ​Trump ramped up his threats to invade Greenland, which is an overseas territory of Denmark.