Trump: Can't Go Into World War III for NATO Allies Who Don't Pay
Greg Richter
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of NATO allies not paying while expecting the United States to protect them, and predicted his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton will end up agreeing with him.
"The fact is we are protecting so many countries that are not paying for the protection," Trump said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor." "They are not living up to the bargain. They are not living up to their agreement."
Trump said he likes NATO, but said they didn't even have a division to cover terrorism until he started pointing it out.
Only five NATO members are paying, and that's because the United States isn't asking, Trump said. The country can no longer afford such deals, he said.
"We are funding 73 percent of the cost of NATO, he said. "They have an agreement to reimburse us and pay us and they are not doing it … And then we are supposed to get into World War III."
Trump predicted that just as Clinton has moved toward his position on the North American Free Trade Agreement, she will do the same on NATO.
Trump told O'Reilly he probably did once call climate change a hoax, as Democrats charge.
"Well, they are saying man-made, and I say it could have a minor impact but nothing, nothing to what they're talking about," Trump said. "And what it's doing is putting us at a tremendous disadvantage as a country. Because other countries are not adhering to the rules. We are. It makes it impossible to compete."