‎President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States could have tested the strength of NATO by invoking the alliance’s collective defence clause, Article 5, in response to challenges along America’s southern border. He made the remarks on Thursday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
‎According to Trump, the U.S. could have called on NATO allies to help secure the southern border, arguing that illegal immigration posed a serious enough threat to warrant collective action. He said such a move would have freed up U.S. Border Patrol agents for other responsibilities and revealed whether NATO members would truly stand by the United States.
‎The comments reflect Trump’s long-standing criticism of NATO, particularly concerns that the alliance may not show the same level of commitment to the U.S. as America does to its allies. Earlier this month, he questioned whether NATO would come to Washington’s aid in a time of need, despite repeated assurances of U.S. support for the bloc.
Trump’s remarks followed a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where discussions reportedly included security cooperation and the Arctic region. Rutte later praised Trump’s leadership, crediting him with pushing NATO members to significantly increase defence spending from the long-standing 2 percent of GDP to a new target of 5 percent, citing growing global security threats.