Donald Trump is threatening to no longer apply the flagship principle of the NATO treaty, namely Article 5, which requires this'An attack against one member of the military alliance is considered an attack against all members.
This threat is justified by the fact that several NATO member states are not meeting their obligation to contribute to the organization's financing of 2% of their GDP. Canada is one of those defaulting countries when it comes to funding.
Known and acknowledged inequality
For its part, the United States bears more than 50% of NATO's expenses, while many countries do not comply with the agreement. While we can criticize Donald Trump as out of touch, isolationist, populist and dangerous, we must admit that he is not wrong when he points out that Washington can no longer absorb all the costs and allow other states to benefit from NATO's protection , without making any financial commitment to the organization.
But Donald Trump doesn't stop there. He keeps going. Even too far. He promises to encourage the enemies of NATO members to persecute those who, in his eyes, do not pay enough. And that is the whole problem with his rhetoric.
It damages his message
It is entirely legitimate to recall that the strength of the military alliance is measured by the ability of all its members to contribute. However, it is absolutely irresponsible to suggest that an enemy could be encouraged to attack. Furthermore, he is criticized today on this point, not necessarily on the substance of his thinking.
Defense and military alliances cannot be electoral arguments. For Trump, the security of the West must not be a partisan football. The stability of NATO cannot be jeopardized by a potential American president in time of war.
Donald Trump missed the opportunity to impose a legitimate and objectively rigorous demand by turning it into an attack on NATO. Such a waste!