Biden says Trump sowing doubts about US commitment to NATO is ‘un-American’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday said Donald Trump’s comments calling into question the U.S. commitment to defend its NATO allies from attack were “dangerous” and “un-American,” seizing on the former president’s comments that sowed fresh fears among U.S. partners about its dependability on the global stage.

Trump, the front-runner in the U.S. for the Republican Party’s nomination this year, said Saturday that he once warned that he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to NATO member nations that are “delinquent” in devoting 2% of their gross domestic product to defense. It was the latest instance in which the former president seemed to side with an authoritarian state over America’s democratic allies.

Speaking from the White House as he encouraged the House to take up a Senate-passed aid bill to fund Ukraine’s efforts to hold off a two-year Russian invasion, Biden said Trump’s comments about the mutual defense pact were “dangerous and shocking.”

“The whole world heard it and the worst thing is he means it,” Biden added.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«MORE COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> MORE COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Trump says he once told a NATO ally to pay its share or he’d ‘encourage’ Russia to do what it wanted </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Allies fear the US is becoming less reliable, with growing concern over a possible Trump return<use xlink:href="#play-icon" xmlns:xlink=«http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink»> </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Trump’s threat