Trump Threatens NATO Exit Over European Refusal to Join Strait of Hormuz Coalition

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to withdraw the United States from NATO, telling Reuters he would "absolutely" consider pulling out of the 77-year-old alliance after European members refused to send warships to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since late February 2026 following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Trump told Reuters he planned to announce the consideration in an evening address to the American public, and separately told Britain's Daily Telegraph that he had moved "beyond reconsideration" on U.S. membership, calling the alliance a "paper tiger." The remarks came hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to NATO's collective defense, the principle that lies at the heart of the alliance. European capitals have broadly refused to join military operations in the Strait of Hormuz, with several governments stating the conflict is "not our war" and pointing out that the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty only covers crises in Europe and North America.

„I'll be discussing my disgust with NATO. Oh, absolutely without question. Wouldn't you do that if you were me?” — Donald Trump via Reuters

NATO was established in 1949 with an initial core of 12 members, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Denmark, as a collective defense against Soviet expansionism. The alliance has since grown to 32 nations. Its founding Article 5 collective defense clause has been triggered only once — following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, when the alliance deployed airborne warning aircraft to help patrol U.S. skies. Trump threatened to leave NATO as early as 2019 during his first term, and former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described in his memoir how he went on Fox News to credit Trump with pressuring allies on defense spending, after which Trump stepped back from a reportedly drafted withdrawal speech.

Ukraine weapons threat used to force allies' hand Trump had already deployed the threat of cutting weapons supplies to Ukraine as leverage against European allies before Wednesday's public remarks, according to the Financial Times. Three officials familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times that Trump threatened to stop supplies to PURL, NATO's weapons procurement initiative for Ukraine, in order to pressure European governments into joining a "coalition of the willing" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte responded by negotiating a joint statement issued on March 19, 2026, in which France, Germany, and the United Kingdom expressed readiness to contribute to efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait. One official briefed on the discussions told the Financial Times that Rutte had described Trump as "rather hysterical" at the Europeans' refusal to help protect the waterway. Rutte was involved in multiple calls with Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the two days before the statement was issued, two officials said. A NATO official declined to comment on the content of Rutte's calls with other leaders.

„It was Rutte who insisted on the joint statement because Trump had threatened to withdraw from PURL and from Ukraine in general” — unnamed official via Financial Times

A 2023 law may block any unilateral withdrawal Legal experts and lawmakers have pointed to a significant statutory obstacle to any unilateral NATO withdrawal by Trump. In 2023, Congress passed and then-President Joe Biden signed legislation prohibiting any U.S. president from suspending, terminating, or withdrawing the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty without a two-thirds majority vote in the 100-member Senate. The amendment was introduced as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, and was co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and then-Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio, who now serves as both U.S. Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor, said on Tuesday that Washington would need to re-examine its relationship with NATO after the Iran war. A February 2026 Congressional Research Service report noted that the executive branch could argue in court that the NDAA amendment is unconstitutional, citing a 2020 Justice Department legal opinion from Trump's first term holding that the president — not Congress — holds the exclusive prerogative to withdraw from treaties. The U.S. Constitution is silent on treaty withdrawal, specifying only that the president may enter treaties with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate.

European allies push back, urge calm over Trump's remarks European governments responded to Trump's remarks with a mix of pushback and calls for restraint. French junior army minister Alice Rufo said NATO is "a military alliance concerned with the security of territories in the Euro-Atlantic area" and "is not intended to carry out an operation in the Strait of Hormuz, which is not in accordance with international law." Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called for calm, warning that "there is no NATO without the United States, and it is in our interest that this calm comes," while also noting that "there is also no American power without NATO." A German government spokesperson said Berlin remained committed to the alliance and, referring to Trump's pattern of such statements, told a regular press conference that "since it's a recurring phenomenon, you can probably judge the consequences for yourself." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would act in his country's interest regardless of the "noise," and argued that instability caused by the Iran war meant Britain should pivot toward closer economic and defense ties with Europe. Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said Trump had made his "disappointment with NATO and other allies clear," adding that "the United States will remember."

„There is no NATO without the United States, and it is in our interest that this calm comes. But there is also no American power without NATO.” — Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz via Reuters

Key events in the NATO-Hormuz crisis: — ; — ; —