Trump Says He Will Consider Leaving NATO

In an interview aired on Sunday, Trump, who is set to return to the White House as the 47th U.S. President on January 20, outlined shifts in domestic and foreign policies he plans to implement once he takes office.

Speaking to Kristen Welker, moderator of NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press,’ Trump said, “NATO [European nations] has taken advantage of us [U.S.] on trade. They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our food products, they don’t take anything. It’s a disgrace.

“On top of that, we defend them, so it’s a double-whammy.”

He added, “I was able to get hundreds of billions of dollars put into NATO just by a tough attitude. I said to the countries: I am not gonna protect you unless you pay, and they started paying, and that amounted to more than 600 billion dollars.”

Commenting on whether he would keep the United States in the alliance, Trump said, “If they [allies] are paying their bills, and if I think they are treating us fairly, the answer is: absolutely, I will stay with NATO.”