WASHINGTON – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles G. Brown, said in an interview Monday that “credibility is at stake” with every U.S. alliance, including NATO, which former President Donald Trump has denounced. recent statements.
In an interview at the Pentagon with “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt, Brown was asked what he thought. Trump suggests that he would let Russia have its way with NATO members if they don’t contribute enough to the alliance.
Brown said: “This year is the 75th anniversary of NATO. “And I think we have an obligation to support those alliances. U.S. credibility is at stake in every one of our alliances, and U.S. leadership is still needed, required, and followed.”
According to him, this is his message to NATO countries, “we understand that each of us has political leadership that we have to work with and that they set the agenda.”
Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign He defended Trump’s comments Reiterating his statement over the weekend: “President Trump forced our allies to increase NATO spending, but Joe Biden has gone back to letting them use the American taxpayer. If you spend when you don’t pay for your defense, you shouldn’t be surprised to get more wars.”
Asked if he was alarmed by Trump’s comments, Brown said: “What I’m doing is continuing to build and strengthen our relationship with NATO. And I understand that there will be different dialogues in discussions at the political level. That’s my job. To make sure that we’re doing everything we can with our NATO allies militarily. and I will continue to do so.”
Watch the interview with Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News at 6:30 PM ET/5:30 PM
At a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump said he would call on Russia to “do what they want” if Russia attacks a NATO country that doesn’t pay enough to the alliance.
“Let’s just say it did. No, I wouldn’t protect you. In fact, I’d encourage them to do whatever the hell they want,” he said. “You must pay your debts.”
As president, Trump has come under fire for NATO and countries that do not pay the agreed-upon 2% of their gross domestic product to defense spending for the alliance. He also questioned Article 5 of NATO’s charter, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all and a collective response will be given.
Brown also defended President Joe Biden’s mental acuity supervising special counsel Biden’s mishandling of classified documents suggested the president sometimes has a “poor memory.”
“He’s pretty sharp,” Brown said. “You know, he understands the issues very well … I even sat down with different people who worked very closely with the president and mentored me when I came in because I want to make sure I get it right. I saw him at the Oval [Office] call people if they can’t get the information they need. … He is sharp.”