After WHO Exit, Is NATO Next for the Trump?

After withdrawing from the World Health Organisation (WHO) a couple of months ago, US President Donald Trump issued a threat to pull out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) now.

US President Donald Trump was enraged over the refusal of NATO allies and other countries to join the US efforts in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed following the US-Israel attack on Iran.

Failing to get the support of NATO partners in the war against Iran, he called them “cowards” and said he was seriously considering pulling out of the 32-member security alliance. Quitting the NATO is a complex process as the member state can do so by giving one year’s notice.

Speaking to The Telegraph in a new interview, Trump was asked if he would think twice about America’s membership of the political and military alliance, after the conflict in the Middle East is over. To this, he said: It’s beyond consideration. “I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”

Trump criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and slammed Britain’s military for refusing to support America in its war with Iran. Earlier, Trump criticized NATO allies, a majority of which are European nations, when they refused to act positively to his Greenland takeover bid. This is the second instance when NATO partners refused to back the US.

Last month, on Truth Social, Trump said, “Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” The NATO allies didn’t want to join the fight to stop a “nuclear-powered Iran”, and the US will remember. The US has militarily won and there is very little danger for the citizens now, he said.

Impact on NATO Member States

US withdrawal from NATO would destabilize European security as it would remove the core deterrent against Russian forces. This would force the European allies to invest more funds and increase the troop numbers to maintain the defence. European nations could quarrel among themselves without the US as the protective shield. Europe may have to fasten plans for independent defence systems.

NATO was founded in 1949 in the aftermath of World War II, as Western nations sought to counter the Soviet Union. 

It is not just the European nations that would face the impact. US would lose its premier global security partnership, if it quit NATO. Primarily, abandoning allies would lead to breach of trust, that could pose difficulty in forging alliances in the future. Further, if European nations develop their own defense capabilities, US arms manufacturers could lose significant, long-term contracts. The US would lose its key role as the leader of the Western world,  which would reduce its influence European security policy and global affairs.