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Alarm bells are ringing in Europe after comments reportedly made by former President Donald Trump about NATO came to light.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union, said that the former president told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that "we will never come to help you and to support you" if Europe is under attack, during a meeting in 2020.
"By the way, you owe me $400 billion, because you didn't pay—you Germans—what you had to pay for defense," the official quoted Trump as saying.
Breton said Trump told them that "NATO is dead," threatening to quit the military alliance, which its supporters say is vital for maintaining peace.
Newsweek has approached Trump's representatives for comment.
In an Iowa town hall broadcast on Fox News on January 10, Trump cast further doubt on the extent of America's relationship with the military alliance.
"NATO has taken advantage of our country. The European countries... took advantage of us on our military protection."
"That was a big wake-up call and he may come back," Breton said about Trump at the Renew Europe party's Global Europe Forum on Tuesday. "So now more than ever, we know that we are on our own, of course. We are a member of NATO, almost all of us, of course we have allies, but we have no other options but to increase drastically this pillar (defense) in order to be ready [for] whatever happens."
President Joe Biden said in a press conference in Helsinki last year that the U.S. was committed to staying "connected to NATO."
The U.S. defense budget for the fiscal year 2022 was more than the next 10 countries combined, according to The Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
European leaders will be looking warily to the U.S. presidential election in November and the potential geopolitical consequences of a second Trump term if he wins.
Conservatives continue to oppose Biden's request for more funding for Israel and Ukraine over criticism of the administration's handling of the border crisis.
Ukraine relies largely on the provision of arms and aid from the U.S. in the fight against Russia's invasion.
Putin said in December last year that Russia potentially attacking a NATO member—something Biden has warned about—was "nonsense."
Article Five of the NATO treaty concerns the principle of an attack on one ally being considered an attack on all. If this were to occur, Biden said it might mean U.S. troops "fighting Russian troops," while the possibility of a full-scale war on the European continent could be a real prospect.
"Russia has no reason, no interest... to fight with NATO countries," Putin said.
About the writer
Benjamin Lynch is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is U.S. politics and national affairs and he ... Read more