Trump Casts Doubt On Nato Solidarity, Despite It Aiding The Us After Sept. 11

President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed uncertainty that NATO would come to the United States' defense if the country were attacked, though the alliance did just that after Sept. 11 - the only time in its history that the defense guarantee has been invoked.

Trump also suggested that the U.S. might abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries don't meet defense spending targets, a day after his pick for NATO ambassador assured senators that the administration's commitment to the military alliance was "ironclad."

Trump's comments denigrating NATO, which was formed to counter Soviet aggression during the Cold War, are largely in line with his yearslong criticism of the alliance, which he has accused of not paying its fair share toward the cost of defense. But they come at a time of heightened concern in the Western world over Trump's cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin , who has long seen NATO as a threat, and as the U.S. president seeks to pressure Ukraine into agreeing to a peace deal with the country that invaded it three years ago.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent the alliance into upheaval last month when he said in a speech that the U.S. would not participate in any peacekeeping force in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, and would not defend any country that participated in it if attacked by Russia.

Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office that other countries would not come to the defense of the U.S. - though they have done exactly that, in the only instance that the Article 5 defense guarantee was invoked.