European leaders are currently deeply concerned about the possibility that former U.S. President Donald Trump may withdraw the United States from NATO if he wins the 2024 presidential elections. Governments of European Union member countries have quietly taken steps to assess Trump s intentions, fearing that his victory could mark the beginning of the end for NATO, according to information from The New York Times.
Less than a year away from the elections, Trump is leading the contenders for the Republican nomination, and most polls place him ahead in electoral forecasts, even surpassing the current President Joe Biden. Concerns within the European Union have led diplomats and political analysts to contact Trump s associates to try to understand whether he would withdraw the United States from NATO in the event of an electoral victory.
European ambassadors, including Mikko Hautala, the Finnish Ambassador to the United States, have engaged with Trump s associates to clarify his intentions. The New York Times reports that these efforts included attempts to persuade on the strategic value of certain countries, such as Finland, as new NATO members.
The approach to dealing with Trump remains delicate for European politicians, who often seem to resort to transactional flattery and gifts to garner his support, according to media citing diplomatic sources.
Although Trump has not explicitly threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO, his repeated criticisms of European allies during his presidency have raised doubts. He has repeatedly admonished member countries for not meeting the goal of allocating 2% of their GDP to defense, using NATO s annual summits to exert pressure. Trump s former advisers had to repeatedly dissuade the president from withdrawing from the Alliance.
Voices like that of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warn of a potential collapse of NATO if Trump were to withdraw military support from certain countries, including Ukraine. The future of this strategic alliance remains uncertain as the 2024 elections approach, and European leaders closely monitor signals from the former U.S. president.
