Republican Senator Defends Donald Trump's NATO Comments: 'Zero Concern'

Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, defended former President Donald Trump's comments on threatening to not support North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries who don't pay their dues, telling CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, "I have zero concern."

The Context:

Trump, who is the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, was campaigning in South Carolina on Saturday when he commented on the need for NATO countries to pay their dues. Each member country contributes to NATO's common funds, with the amount that a given member contributes is based on its Gross National Income.

What We Know:

While on CNN's State of the Union, Tapper showed Rubio a clip from Trump talking at a campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Saturday about how he handled NATO during his term as president.

"I said everybody's gonna pay. They said, 'Well if we don't pay are you still going to protect us?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' They couldn't believe the answer. You've never saw more money poor in," Trump said at the rally. "They asked me that question, one of the presidents of a big country, stood up, said, 'Well sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?' I said, 'You didn't pay, you're delinquent?' He said, 'yes.' Let's say that happened. No, I would not protect you, in fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want."

Tapper asked Rubio: "You've endorsed Donald Trump. Are you comfortable with him suggesting that he wouldn't defend NATO countries and actually, he would invite Putin and Russia to invade them?"

The senator responded: "Well, that's not what happened and that's not how [I] view that statement. I mean, he was talking about a story that he talked about happened in the past. By the way, Donald Trump was president and he didn't pull us out of NATO. In fact, American troops are stationed throughout Europe, as they are today they were then as well."

He added: "He doesn't talk like a traditional politician...What he's basically saying is... NATO was broke or busted until he took over because people weren't paying their dues and then he told the story about how he used leverage to get people to step up to the plate and become more active in NATO..."

"I have zero concern because he's been president before. I know exactly what he has done and will do with the NATO alliance," Rubio said.

When Newsweek reached out to Rubio's office on Sunday asking if the senator had any concerns about Trump pulling out of NATO if he were to win the 2024 election, the senator's office said, "This is the Senators official office and as such I'm legally not allowed to answer any questions relating to the election."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign and via email for comment.

Views:

In response to Trump's latest comments, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said, "Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged—and it endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home."

President Joe Biden has been a staunch supporter of NATO as he and the alliance support Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia that began in late February 2022 when the latter invaded.

During Biden's visit to Europe in July 2023, he said at a new conference in Helsinki, Finland, "As sure as anything can possibly be said about American foreign policy, we will stay connected to NATO — connected to NATO, beginning, middle and end. We're a transatlantic partnership."

This show of enthusiasm for NATO was in contrast to then-President Trump's comments during his visit to Europe in July 2018. During a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, a reporter asked Trump, "Are you still threatening to potentially pull the United States out of NATO for any reason, and do you believe you can do that without Congress's explicit support and approval?"

"I think I probably can, but that is unnecessary. They have stepped up today like they have never stepped up before," Trump said.

What's Next?

No U.S. president can unilaterally withdraw the country from NATO without congressional approval thanks to a provision in this year's National Defense Authorization Act. There have been concerns of Trump pulling out of NATO if we were to win the 2024 election.

While November will likely be a re-match between Biden and Trump, the former president still has to win the Republican nomination. Trump has remained popular with Republican voters, having won every state-level primary or caucus so far, aside from Nevada where he was not on the ballot. He will go up against former South Carolina Governor and ex-United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary on February 24.

Update 2/11/24, 10:28 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 2/11/24 12:33 pm. ET: The headline for this article has been updated.

Update 2/11/24 2:06 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and comment from Rubio's office.