President Trump excoriated NATO Wednesday ahead of his scheduled meeting with its top official, saying the international alliance flopped dramatically when it didn’t help the U.S. during its military strike on Iran.
Mr. Trump, who is meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House, said in a statement through press secretary Karoline Leavitt that countries within the international body “were tested and they failed.”
Ms. Leavitt told reporters at Wednesday’s press briefing, “And I would add, it’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks, when it’s the American people who have been funding their defense.”
Ms. Leavitt said Mr. Trump “looks forward to having a very frank and candid conversation with” Mr. Rutte, who is expected to try to smooth over the president’s anger with the military alliance over the Iran war.
Mr. Trump has suggested the U.S. may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, as Iran effectively closed it and sent oil prices soaring.
Mr. Trump’s meeting with Mr. Rutte, with whom he has had a friendly relationship, comes as the U.S. and Iran late Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait.
The last-minute ceasefire was agreed to after Mr. Trump said he would strike Iran’s power plants and bridges, threatening that “a whole civilization will die.”
