The Telegraph: Donald Trump says he is seriously considering US withdrawal from NATO

US President Donald Trump told The Telegraph that he is seriously considering withdrawing the United States from NATO after the Alliance failed to support Washington in the conflict with Iran.

Asked if he would reevaluate the United States’ membership in NATO after the conflict in the Middle East, the American president replied: “Yes, I would say that’s not an issue. NATO has never impressed me. I’ve always known that its a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”

It is the strongest sign yet that the White House leader no longer considers Europe a reliable defence partner, following the rejection of Trump’s request that allies send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil usually passes.

Tehran has effectively closed the strait for several weeks, causing a sharp rise in oil and gas prices and threatening a global recession.

“Besides the fact that they weren’t there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t push it too hard. I just said, ‘Hey,’ you know, I didn’t push it too hard. I just think it should be automatic. We were there automatically, including in Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always be there for them. They weren’t there for us,” Donald Trump added.

Targeting Britain specifically, the US president rebuked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for refusing to get involved in the US-Israeli war against Iran, suggesting that the Royal Navy was not ready for the task.

“You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and you have aircraft carriers that don’t work,” he told journalists at The Telegraph, referring to the state of Britain’s warship fleet.

Asked whether the British Prime Minister should spend more on defence, Donald Trump added: “I’m not going to tell him what to do. He can do whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter. All Starmer wants are expensive windmills that make your energy prices skyrocket.”

Last week, The Telegraph revealed that Trump was considering a reorganization of NATO designed to punish members that did not meet its funding requirements.

Senior members of the US Administration have pushed for a “pay-to-play model” that could prevent allies from making decisions, including when the bloc goes to war.

Trump’s request for NATO to help him in his war with Iran raises questions about Article 5, the mutual defence clause that states that “an attack on one member is an attack on all.” It has only been invoked once – after the September 11 attacks on the United States. More than 1,100 non-American soldiers have been killed in the war in Afghanistan that followed, including 457 British soldiers.

The clause only applies to situations where a NATO member is attacked and therefore would not apply to the Iran war, which began with joint US and Israeli air strikes on February 28.

The decision belongs to Congress.

The US Congress passed a resolution in 2023 that prevents any president from withdrawing the United States from NATO without Senate approval or a law of Congress.

Sponsored by Senators Tim Kaine and Marco Rubio, the decision was included in the annual National Defence Authorization Act. The provision highlighted Congress’s commitment to the NATO alliance, which has been a target of criticism from Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.

“The Senate should exercise control over the decision on whether or not our country withdraws from NATO. We need to ensure that we protect our national interests and that we ensure the security of our Democratic allies,” said current US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2023.

yogaesoteric
April 2, 2026

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