President Donald Trump on Friday sharply rebuked NATO member nations, accusing them of failing to back the United States during its recent military campaign against Iran and raising the possibility that Washington could rethink its role in the alliance.

Speaking at an investment conference in Miami Beach sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Trump said European allies did not stand with the U.S. when assistance was sought, calling their response a major failure.

“NATO just wasn’t there,” Trump said, describing the lack of support as “a tremendous mistake” by European nations.

“We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, protecting them, and we would have always been there for them,” Trump said. “But now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be.”

He emphasized the significance of his remarks, calling them “breaking news,” and added, “Why would we be there for them? If they’re not there for us.”

Trump’s comments followed a post he made a day earlier on Truth Social, where he wrote that NATO countries had “done absolutely nothing” to assist in confronting Iran, which he described as a “lunatic nation” that has now been “militarily decimated.”

He further stated that while the United States “needs nothing from NATO,” allied nations should “never forget” the situation.

The remarks prompted renewed questions about whether U.S. policy toward NATO could shift, though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there has been no formal change, describing Trump as simply being “very vocal and honest about his displeasure with NATO.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte responded by defending European allies, noting they were not given advance notice of the U.S. strike on Iran, which limited their ability to respond immediately.

Speaking in Brussels, Rutte said the lack of prior coordination—intended to avoid leaks—delayed any European reaction, though he stressed that efforts to respond were already underway.

At the same time, Rutte voiced support for the U.S. campaign, describing Iran as “an exporter of chaos” and saying American military actions were weakening that threat.

Trump’s latest remarks underscore ongoing friction between Washington and its NATO partners, particularly regarding burden-sharing and coordination in major military operations.

{Matzav.com}