Liz Cheney Tears Into Donald Trump's NATO Comments

Former Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, tore into Donald Trump on Monday for saying he would "encourage" Russian President Vladimir Putin to do "whatever the hell" he wants to NATO members who insufficiently contribute financially to the military alliance.

Trump, who remains the frontrunner to win the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination, sparked bipartisan backlash with his remarks about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during a campaign rally in South Carolina on Saturday.

Trump appeared to recall a conversation with an unnamed politician he described as "one of the presidents of a big country" and added that the anonymous leader had asked whether the United States would protect the NATO nation if Russia attacked.

"I said, 'You didn't pay, you're delinquent?'" the former president told the crowd. "In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills."

Cheney knocked his statement in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday morning. She responded by sharing a Semafor article titled, "Republicans shrug off Trump's NATO comments," adding that "no honorable American leaders would excuse or endorse" Trump's remarks.

"NATO is the most successful military alliance in history. It's essential to deterring war & defending American security. No sane American President would encourage Putin to attack our NATO allies," she wrote.

Article 5 of NATO's charter states that "an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies," meaning an attack against a NATO state could draw a military response by all others. However, many member states are still not spending 2 percent of their GDPs on their militaries, despite having agreed to that target in 2014.

No U.S. president can unilaterally withdraw the country from NATO without congressional approval due to a provision in this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

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

Cheney previously represented Wyoming's at-large Congressional district from 2017 to 2023 and also served as the chair of the House Republican Conference, but has grown critical of the direction of the GOP.

She was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol building, when a group of his supporters violently protested the 2020 election results, sparking conservative backlash. She ultimately lost her primary election in 2022 to Trump-backed Harriet Hageman, who now represents the state in Congress after easily winning the general election in November.

Javed Ali, an associate professor of practice at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, told Newsweek on Monday morning that Trump's remarks are "inflammatory and the most disparaging regarding the viability of NATO from any U.S. president on record."

"While in office President Trump put pressure on NATO to boost defense spending in line with US commitments, and he likewise questioned the value of other U.S. security relationships when he assessed partners were not fulfilling their obligations commensurate with those from the United States," Ali said.

Ali also warned that "NATO unity and solidarity is needed more than ever" as the Russia-Ukraine war nears its second year, but that Trump may find ways to "diminish U.S. support to Ukraine with allies in Congress" if he wins the November election.

Trump's remarks about NATO drew substantial attention, with Democrats and Republicans voicing disagreement. Presidential candidate Nikki Haley, the lone Republican challenger remaining in the primary, said NATO "has been a success story for the last 75 years" during an interview Sunday on CBS News' Face the Nation.

"What bothers me about this is don't take the side of a thug who kills his opponents. Don't take the side of someone who has gone in and invaded a country and half a million people have died or been wounded because of Putin. Don't take the side of someone who continues to lie," she said, adding siding with Russia is "the last thing we ever want to do."

Meanwhile, Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and GOP presidential candidate, said Trump's comments are "absolutely inappropriate," but are "consistent with his love for dictators" during an interview on NBC News' Meet the Press on Sunday.

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."

Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, wrote on X on Saturday that Trump's comments "would be enough to make [former Republican President Ronald] Reagan ill," adding: "He's more interested in aggrandizing himself and pleasing Putin than protecting our allies."