Donald Trump's Attacks on NATO Are 'Just Words': Zelensky

Former President Donald Trump's recent threats to NATO members are "just words," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins that aired Monday night, Zelensky was asked his opinion on Trump's chances for reelection and discussed the former president's comments that he would "encourage" Russia to attack any country that isn't meeting the NATO spending requirements.

"It's just words, I think so," Zelensky told Collins, adding that he doesn't think Trump is ready to pull the U.S. out of NATO if he were reelected to the White House.

The Context

Zelensky's interview with Collins recorded on Sunday was aired a day before President Joe Biden is set to meet with congressional leaders at the White House to urge lawmakers to pass additional aid for Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion. The Senate passed an emergency aid package—which included a $60 billion boost for Kyiv—earlier this month. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has resisted bringing the bill to a vote in the lower chamber.

Trump's chances for reelection have also sparked concern that his second term could spell trouble for Ukraine, given that the former president refused to state which nation he wants to win the war while participating in a CNN town hall in May. Trump was also repeatedly critical of NATO during his first term in office.

What We Know

When asked by Collins if he thought a second Trump administration would be "good" or "bad" for Ukraine, Zelensky said that it was up to the American people to decide who should be the next U.S. president.

The Ukrainian leader added, however, that he believes Trump would "have challenges with his society" if he chose not to support Ukraine, "because to support Russia, it means to be against Americans."

"And I think and I hope that we have common values, our people [and] your people," Zelensky added. "That's why I can't understand how Donald Trump can be on the side of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's press team via email for comment late Monday night.

Views

Trump told supporters earlier this month that he would "encourage" Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to NATO members who do not meet the alliance's spending goals. Under Article 5 of the treaty agreement, each country in NATO must have a defense spending target of approximately 2 percent of its gross domestic product.

The former president's comments about NATO were quickly ripped by Biden, who called it a "dangerous, and shockingly, frankly, un-American signal to the world." However, Margus Tsahkna, Estonian minister of foreign affairs, whose country is a member of NATO, told Newsweek that he welcomed Trump's criticism, saying it was right "if you take away the rhetoric."

According to polling conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies that was commissioned by Newsweek, support for NATO has jumped among Americans as the war in Ukraine drags on. This month, 64 percent of voters indicated that they supported the military alliance, a 2 percent increase from a similar poll in November.

What's Next?

Republican lawmakers have held off on passing additional aid packages for Ukraine unless Democrats agree to a bill that includes specific GOP demands for addressing national security along the U.S.-southern border. The Senate bipartisan bill included funding for both issues, but Johnson and other hard-line Republicans said the bill did not go far enough to fix the "border crisis."

Zelensky told Collins that Ukraine has two different plans for its military, based on whether or not Congress approves additional aid.

"It means that, if we have munitions or not, if we count on our partners, or we have to count only on us."

Update 02/26/24, 10:55 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.