NATO a sacred commitment; Trump looks at it as a burden: US President Biden

NATO is a sacred commitment for the US President Joe Biden has said as he slammed predecessor Donald Trump for his recent remarks on the 74yearold military alliance Biden told reporters at a White House news conference on Tuesday When America gives its word it means something When we make a commitment we keep it And NATO is a sacred commitment Donald Trump looks at this as if its a burdenWhen he looks at NATO he doesnt see the alliance that protects America and the world He sees a protection racket He doesnt understand that NATO is built on the fundamental principles of freedom security and national sovereignty he added Speaking at a rally in South Carolina during the weekend Trump said he would ask NATO allies to increase their defence spending or else encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade those nationsYou didnt pay Youre delinquent No I would not protect you In fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want You gotta pay You gotta pay your bills Trump said Trump who is the frontrunner for the Republican Partys nomination has called for NATO members to devote two per cent of their gross domestic product on defenceIn response Biden said Because for Trump principles never matter Everything is transactional He doesnt understand that the sacred commitment weve given works for us as well In fact I would remind Trump and all those who would walk away from NATO Article 5 has only been invoked once just once in our NATO history and it was done to stand with America after we were attacked on 911We should never forget it You know our adversaries have long sought to create cracks in the alliance he added Under Article 5 of NATOs mutual defence clause all allies commit to help any member who comes under attack The article has only ever been invoked once by the US following the attacks of September 11 2001Biden said The greatest hope of all those who wish America harm is for NATO to fall apart And you can be sure that they all cheered when they heard Donald Trump and heard what he said I know this I will not walk away I cant imagine any other president walking away For as long as Im president if Putin attacks a NATO ally the United States will defend every inch of NATO territoryThe US president also described those remarks as shameful and unAmerican The former president Trump has sent a dangerous and shockingly frankly unAmerican signal to the world Just a few days ago Trump gave an invitation to Putin to invade some of our allies NATO allies He said if an ally didnt spend enough money on defence he would encourage Russia to quote do whatever the hell they want end of quote Biden saidCan you imagine a former president of the United States saying that The whole world heard it The worst thing is he means it No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator Let me say this as clearly as I can I never will For Gods sake its dumb its shameful its dangerous its unAmerican Biden saidNikki Haley Trumps rival for the Republican presidential nomination also slammed the former president for his comments Dont take the side of a thug who kills his opponents Dont take the side of someone who has gone in and invaded a country and half a million people have died or been wounded because of Putin Dont take the side of someone who continues to lie I dealt with Russia every day The last thing we ever want to do is side with Russia she told CBS in an interview on SundayWe do want NATO allies to pull their weight but there are ways you can do that without sitting there and telling Russia Have your way with these countries If you notice Russia has never invaded a NATO country Theyve invaded Georgia Moldova and Ukraine They are actually very intimidated by NATO NATO allows us to prevent war Haley had said White House Spokesperson Andrew Bates said Biden has restored alliances and made the US stronger because he knows every commanderinchiefs first responsibility is to keep the American people safe and hold true to the values that unite themHe said Thanks to President Bidens experienced leadership NATO is now the largest and most vital it has ever been Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged and it endangers American national security global stability and our economy at home Bates added Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership and stand up for our national security interests not against them