From 'obsolete' to the 'opposite of that': Trump changes tune on NATO, criticizes Putin
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has changed his tune on NATO, now that U.S. allies are paying more for their self-defense.
Before he was elected to office in 2016, Trump said the military alliance was from a "different time" and he called it "obsolete." But he has softened his tone and said this week that the Western alliance was "becoming the opposite of that."
"It was very unfair because the United States paid for almost a hundred percent of it, but now they're paying their own bills, and I think that's much better," Trump told the BBC. "We changed NATO a lot," he added.
Trump gave the interview after an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The pair announced a plan for Europe to pay the United States for weapons that the alliance ships to Ukraine. Trump issued an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the meeting, saying he has 50 days to make peace with Ukraine or he'll face economic punishment.
Trump told the BBC later that he was disappointed with Putin but not done negotiating with the Russian leader, whom he suggested he does not trust.
He told the British network he thought he had a deal with Putin to end the war four times. "And then you go home, and you see, just attacked a nursing home or something in Kyiv. I said: 'What the hell was that all about?'"