'Pay your bills!' Donald Trump warns EU countries in NATO 'won't be protected'
The presidential hopeful, 77, sat down with the GB News presenter for a sit-down interview that aired Tuesday night.
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Donald Trump made clear his stance on NATO during a bombshell sit-down with Nigel Farage Tuesday night.
The presidential hopeful says the alliance is "strong because of me" after he forced countries to pony up during his presidency.
He claims that when a NATO leader asked him if they would be safe regardless of their contributions, he responded: "You mean you're delinquent? If you're not paying your bills, we're not gonna defend you."
His comments come after he was roundly criticized for encouraging Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO allies who don't pay their fare share, which comes out to about 2 percent of their GDP per year.
The president's allies have dismissed claims that Trump would destroy NATO if re-elected, with one prominent backer telling the Sunday Express such fears are "overblown."
READ MORE: Putin 'will be emboldened' to attack Europe if Trump takes US out of NATO
Tuesday's much-hyped interview touched on subjects ranging from Uraine to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The billionaire businessman told Farage that Harry would get no special treatment if he lied on a US visa form about his drug use.
As for NATO, he reiterated his stance on member states' contributions: "If I said, 'Yes I am, we're gonna pay their bills,' why would they do it?"
He added: "Don't forget, it's more important to them than it is to us."
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance where 32 countries — including the UK, the US, Germany and several Eastern European states — promise to defend each other if attacked.
Trump has been criticized for undermining the alliance by complaining about payments and encouraging hostile states like Russia to attack.
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Back in August, Trump's former National Security Advisor John Bolton warned that Trump will "almost certainly withdraw from NATO" if he won a second term.
Current Trump campaign operative Sebastian Gorka, however, has dismissed such claims.
Gorka said: "The idea that he's going to destroy NATO is nonsense, he wants it to be a strong alliance of people who pull it together."
The latest Morning Consult poll has Trump and President Joe Biden tied in November's general election, with 43 percent each. Another poll by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research also has both men tied at 44 percent each.
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