Former U.S. President Donald Trump has said he believes the United Kingdom would support the United States in the event of a conflict, but expressed doubts about whether the European Union would do the same. In an interview with the BBC published on Tuesday, Trump cited this as one reason for his reluctance to finalize a trade deal with the EU.
“One of the problems with NATO, as I’ve said, is that we have to fight for them, but would they fight for us if there were a war?” Trump said. “I believe the UK would. I think they would stand with us. I’m not sure about a lot of the other countries.”
Trump’s comments reflect ongoing skepticism about the commitment of NATO allies to mutual defense, even after member nations agreed to increase military spending. His remarks also appeared to justify granting the UK certain exemptions from U.S. tariffs, while threatening to impose tariffs of up to 30% on European goods.
“That’s why I made a deal with the UK. I’ve made some other deals too, but when it comes to your competitors in the European Union, I haven’t made a deal,” Trump said.
NATO’s mutual defense clause, Article 5, has only been invoked once — in support of the United States following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. British forces later joined U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the UK military has since seen a significant reduction in size.
