Historian factchecks Trump’s Nato criticism as ex-president tells Europe to ‘PAY UP!’

Donald Trump drew widespread condemnation after his recent comments that he would encourage Russia to invade Nato countriesthat don’t spend enough on defence.

A leading historian, Timothy Snyder, noted on X on Tuesday that when it comes to aid to Ukraine, the US is lagging behind some European countries when it comes to per capita assistance to the wartorn country.

After President Joe Biden called Mr Trump’s Nato comments “un-American”, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on: “Could somebody please inform our uninformable President that NATO has to pay their bills!

“They are right now paying a small fraction of what we are for the Disaster in Ukraine which, if we had a real President, would never have happened. There is probably a $150 Billion difference. They should equalize with the U.S. — FAST! The European Nations, when combined, have approximately the same size Economy as we do. They have the money. PAY UP!” he added.

Mr Snyder, a Yale history professor and an expert on eastern Europe and the Holocaust, wrote on Tuesday: “Speaking of paying our share… If the US gave as much/GDP to Ukraine as does Denmark or Slovakia, Ukraine would win easily. If we gave as much/GDP to Ukraine as Estonia does, Ukraine would likely have won long ago. Ukrainian victory is what matters and we are the slackers.”

While the US has given the most in total military, European Union institutions have given more when humanitarian and particularly financial aid is included.

EU institutions have given a total of 77.1bn euro (82.7bn US dollars) in aid to Ukraine, while the US has given 71.4 bn euro (76.6bn US dollars), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Germany, which is part of the EU, has given just over 20bn euro (21.5bn US