NORTH CHARLESTON, SC — Former President Donald Trump said again on Wednesday that if he returns to the White House he will not defend NATO members that fail to meet defense spending targets, days after he set off alarm bells in Europe by suggesting that he would tell Russia to attack NATO allies. considered delinquent.
At a campaign rally in South Carolina, he told the story of his alleged conversation with the head of a NATO member state that had failed to fulfill its obligations. This time, however, he dropped the line that caused the most outrage: he encouraged Russia to “do whatever they want.”
‘Look, if they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect them. OK?” he said on Wednesday.
Trump moved closer than usual to his prepared remarks following a freewheeling event days earlier in which he also drew criticism for mocking his Republican rival Nikki Haley’s husband for missing from the campaign trail. He also revised his comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has often praised as callous and previously suggested he treat as the apple of his eye.
Instead, Trump quoted an interview Putin gave to Russian state television on Wednesday in which he said he would choose Biden as president.
“Putin is not a fan of me,” Trump said.
Haley, Trump’s former UN ambassador and his last major rival in the Republican presidential race, has been condemning Trump’s comments for days about her husband Michael Haley, who is deployed with the National Guard in Africa.
Trump on Wednesday insulted Nikki Haley and highlighted his wide lead in the polls over her, but turned more of his attention to President Joe Biden, whom he is expected to face in the 2024 general election.
Biden has also blasted Trump for his comments on NATO, calling them “dangerous,” “un-American” and “shocking.” Biden has also pushed for a foreign aid package to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
Trump has opposed the aid, saying on Wednesday that the US should provide a loan to Ukraine instead.
“Why just hand it over to them?” he said.
Trump also tried to explain away his comments in January in which he repeatedly confused Haley with former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, raising questions about his mental fitness. Both Biden (81) and Trump (77) face widespread questions among voters about their age and readiness for a second term.
“I’m not a Nikki fan and I’m not a Pelosi fan and when I put names in there on purpose they said, ‘He didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki, from Tricky Nikki,’ he said. ‘No, no, I think They both stink, they have something in common.”
Although Haley has made more campaign appearances than Trump recently, she did not appear at any events on Wednesday. Don Bolduc, a Haley surrogate, failed New Hampshire Senate candidate and retired brigadier general, held a press conference earlier Wednesday focused on Trump’s criticism of Michael Haley.
SFA Inc., the super PAC backing Haley’s campaign, played its latest ad on a mobile billboard near Trump’s Wednesday night rally, a place Trump calls “sick or clueless” for his criticism of the military.
Trump’s negativity toward Haley has increased as the season’s voting has picked up and the campaign has moved to her home state.
Last month in New Hampshire, Trump essentially ruled out Haley as a potential running mate, saying she “isn’t presidential wood.”
He said Wednesday night that his criticism of her means “she will never run for vice president,” a comment that was met with loud cheers from the audience.
But Trump quickly pivoted and praised Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who withdrew from the presidential race in November. Scott is seen as a potential running mate for Trump, whom he has endorsed and campaigned for, including on Wednesday night.
“You are a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself,” Trump told Scott.
While governor of South Carolina, Haley appointed Scott to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Her son, Nalin, has introduced Haley at her events and several times referred to Scott as “Sen. Judas,” a reference to the Biblical story of the disciple who betrayed Jesus Christ.