President Donald Trump is once again brandishing one of his favorite geopolitical threats: pulling the United States out of NATO.
In a recent interview with Britain's Telegraph newspaper, the president stated that a US exit from the 77-year-old military alliance is "beyond reconsideration." His renewed fury stems from European allies declining to unconditionally follow the US and Israel into military engagements against Iran.
"I just think it should be automatic," Trump told the publication, expressing frustration over the lack of immediate military solidarity.
However, defense experts point out that Trump's demands highlight a misunderstanding of the alliance's foundational rules. NATO's famed Article 5—which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all—mandates a consensus rather than a unilateral decree. Furthermore, the 1949 treaty specifically limits its scope to crises in Europe and North America. In its entire history, Article 5 has only been invoked once: following the September 11 attacks on the US.
Wary of the Trump administration's mixed messaging and unclear objectives in the Middle East, several allies have actively distanced themselves from the current conflict. Spain recently restricted its airspace to US military aircraft conducting missions against Iran, while Italy denied landing rights to US planes heading to the region for combat operations.
The UK also initially blocked US warplanes from accessing its bases before eventually conceding they could be used strictly for "defensive operations." This hesitation earned British Prime Minister Keir Starmer derision from Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who publicly mocked Starmer as being "no Churchill."
Top US officials are echoing the president's frustrations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told Fox News that the alliance must be fundamentally re-evaluated once the current Middle East conflict concludes.
"I think there's no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded we are going to have to re-examine that relationship," Rubio stated, arguing that barring the US from utilizing European bases for its own interests turns NATO into a "one-way street."
Trump's hostility toward NATO is nothing new. He has previously branded the coalition a "paper tiger" and complained about the financial burden it places on Washington. Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently revealed in his memoir that Trump nearly withdrew the US from the alliance in 2019. The crisis was narrowly averted after Stoltenberg went on Fox News to publicly praise Trump for pressuring members to increase their defense spending to the targeted 2% of GDP.
If Trump genuinely attempts a withdrawal, he will face significant domestic legal hurdles. In late 2023, the US Congress passed legislation prohibiting the president from unilaterally leaving NATO without either an Act of Congress or a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate.
Nonetheless, the mere threat of a US departure sends shockwaves through the 32-member coalition. The Pentagon accounts for roughly 62% of NATO's total defense expenditures and provides unmatched intelligence and military capabilities that European partners simply cannot replicate.
The diplomatic heavy lifting now falls to current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Often dubbed the "Trump whisperer" for his ability to flatter and placate the mercurial president—such as tactfully defusing Trump's past ambitions to effectively "take" Greenland—Rutte is scheduled to visit Washington next week.
Rutte's primary mission will be convincing Trump that remaining in NATO serves America's best interests. It is a delicate balancing act; Rutte has already drawn ire from other NATO states for his overly vocal support of Trump's Iran operations in a bid to keep the unpredictable president on their side. As the alliance navigates simultaneous crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, its greatest immediate challenge may currently reside in the White House.