Hillary Warns "If Trump Is Reelected, NATO Will Withdraw"

Openly Discussing Withdrawal... Possible Refusal of Funding Support
Europe Takes Measures Including Increasing Defense Budget

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that if former President Donald Trump succeeds in his re-election bid this year, he will withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

According to CNBC on the 17th (local time), Clinton said at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), "We must take former President Trump's statements 'literally and seriously,'" adding, "He will pull us (the U.S.) out of NATO."

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

Clinton also claimed that Trump might refuse to fund NATO, stating, "The U.S. will only be there in name."

As a leading Republican presidential candidate, Trump has repeatedly mentioned withdrawing from NATO during his tenure, pressuring allied countries to increase defense spending.

On the 10th of this month, during a campaign rally, he made remarks suggesting that if NATO member countries do not bear enough defense costs, he would encourage Russia to attack them. Additionally, in a post on social media, he argued that foreign aid, including the Ukraine aid bill pending in the U.S. Congress, should only be provided in the form of loans.

In response to Trump's remarks, European countries have urgently taken measures such as increasing troop numbers and boosting defense budgets.

Some have expressed the opinion that even if Trump returns to power, the actual possibility of withdrawing from NATO is low. Jim Risch, the Republican ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, dismissed the idea at the MSC, saying, "For the U.S. to withdraw from NATO, it would require a two-thirds majority approval in the Senate," adding, "That will never happen." The U.S. Congress also codified into law at the end of last year that the president cannot unilaterally withdraw from NATO.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, stated, "Regardless of the outcome of the November election, we expect the U.S. to remain a strong and committed NATO ally," and asserted, "A strong NATO aligns with America's security interests."