Trump, Feb. 10, 2024: Russia, do "whatever the hell" you want to a NATO country . . .
At a rally in Conway, South Carolina on February 10, 2024, Trump made shocking remarks that gave his seal of approval for Putin to attack a NATO country on the flimsiest of pretenses. Trump said that if asked by the leader of a NATO country with low defense expenditures if he would offer protection from an attack by Russia, Trump replied:
No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.1
The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, said that Trump's February 10th statement giving carte blanche to Russia "undermines all of our security" and "puts American and European soldiers at increased risk."2 President Biden called Trump's remarks "appalling and dangerous" and gave Putin "a green light for more war and violence."3 In response to Trump's remarks, Nikki Haley, the Republican governor of South Carolina and a former US ambassador to the UN, who was then competing with Trump in the GOP primary, warned against taking the side of Putin, a "thug who kills his opponents."4
Consistent with the green light that he held out Putin in his February 10, 2024 remarks, Trump has praised Putin dozens of times over the past decade, for example, in 2022, describing his invasion of Ukraine as "genius" and "savvy."5 Trump has also consistently opposed US military aid to Ukraine.6
Trump's praise of Putin's invasion of Ukraine and his assent for Russia to attack another NATO country betray not only his support for the US's number one enemy but also make a mockery of his claimed concern about crime. The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Mafia state was crime on a massive scale, killing thousands of Ukrainians and causing untold destruction. Moreover, Trump has been enmeshed with Mobsters going back decades. His perspective on crime is so twisted that he recently said that the world's #1 most crime-ridden country was "very safe".
- The Washington Post, "Trump's NATO-bashing comments rile allies, rekindle European fears," February 11, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/02/11/trump-nato-russia-invade/; CNN, "Trump says he would encourage Russia to 'do whatever the hell they want' to any NATO country that doesn't pay enough," February 10, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/10/politics/trump-russia-nato/index.html; NBC News, "Trump Says Russia Can Do 'Whatever the Hell They Want' if NATO Countries Don't Pay Enough," February 10, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-says-russia-whatever-hell-want-nato-countries-dont-pay-enough-rcna138256.
- BBC News, "NATO chief says Donald Trump comments 'undermine all of our security,'" February 11, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68269354.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Politico, "Trump calls Putin 'genius' and 'savvy' for Ukraine invasion," February 23, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/trump-putin-ukraine-invasion-00010923.
- The Atlantic, "Why Does the GOP Block Ukraine Aid? For Trump," December 18, 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/republicans-congress-ukraine-aid-trump/676374/.
