North Charleston, S.C.: Former President Donald Trump again said Wednesday that if he returns to the White House, he would not defend NATO members that don’t meet defense spending targets, days after he set off alarms in Europe by suggesting he would tell Russia to attack NATO allies he considered delinquent.
Speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina, he retold the story of his alleged conversation with the head of a NATO member country that had not met its obligations. This time, though, he left out the line that drew the most outrage — encouraging Russia “to do whatever the hell they want.”
“Look, if they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect. OK?” he said Wednesday.
Trump hewed closer than usual to his prepared remarks after a freewheeling event days earlier in which he also drew backlash for mocking his Republican rival Nikki Haley’s husband for being missing from the campaign trail. He also revised his comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has often praised as tough and previously suggested treated him like the “apple of his eye.”
Instead, Trump cited an interview Putin gave Wednesday to Russian state television in which he said he would prefer Biden as president.
“Putin is not a fan of mine,” Trump said.
Haley, Trump’s former U.N. ambassador and his last major rival in the GOP presidential race, has been condemning Trump’s remarks for days about her husband Michael Haley, who is deployed in Africa with the National Guard.
