“NATO RIP”: Journalists Horrified By Trump Waffling On Security Guarantees

Media figures across the political spectrum reacted with dismay and disbelief after The New York Times reported that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “called into question whether, as president, he would automatically extend the security guarantees” to members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if they were attacked by Russia.

In a July 20 interview with the Times, Trump “said that he would press the theme of ‘America First,’ his rallying cry for the past four months, and that he was prepared to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada if he could not negotiate radically better terms.” Trump also suggested that he would not honor America’s treaty obligations to defend members of NATO from attack:

He even called into question whether, as president, he would automatically extend the security guarantees that give the 28 members of NATO the assurance that the full force of the United States military has their back.

For example, asked about Russia’s threatening activities that have unnerved the small Baltic States that are the most recent entrants into NATO, Mr. Trump said that if Russia attacked them, he would decide whether to come to their aid only after reviewing whether those nations “have fulfilled their obligations to us.”

Several journalists have documented the close ties and apparent affinity between Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

On Twitter, liberal, nonideological, and conservative media figures alike reacted with horror and disbelief at Trump’s comments: