Trump Labels NATO a Paper Tiger and Strongly Considers U.S. Withdrawal

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was "strongly considering" pulling the United States out of NATO, calling the 77-year-old alliance a "paper tiger" in an interview with Britain's The Daily Telegraph published on April 1, 2026. Trump said the question of U.S. membership was now "beyond reconsideration," citing the failure of European allies to back U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran. He added that he had "always known" NATO lacked credibility and that Russian President Vladimir Putin shared that assessment.

„Oh yes, I would say [it's] beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.” — Donald Trump via Reuters

The remarks drew immediate attention across European capitals, with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describing Trump as a "supervolcano" erupting again and warning that Europe, confronting what it called "Great Russian imperialism," was "largely on its own."

Rubio confirms NATO's value will be formally re-examined U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as acting National Security Advisor, reinforced Trump's position in a separate interview with Fox News. Rubio stated that the United States would "re-examine the value of NATO and this alliance for our country" once the Iran conflict concluded. The remarks from both Trump and Rubio centered on the refusal of European NATO partners to provide active support for U.S. operations related to the ongoing war against Iran, particularly concerning the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez drew specific criticism after denying the United States the use of military bases on Spanish territory for operations against Iran. Analyst Konstantin Eggert, writing for Deutsche Welle, noted that Rubio's statement carried particular weight given that the secretary of state had until recently been regarded as "almost the main Atlanticist in Congress." Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder described the current moment as "the biggest crisis ever experienced in NATO," distinguishing it from past disputes by noting that this time the rupture concerns collective defense itself — the alliance's founding purpose — rather than policy differences.

Federal law and NATO treaty create significant legal barriers A formal U.S. withdrawal from NATO faces substantial legal obstacles. A federal law passed by Congress during the administration of former President Joe Biden requires Trump to obtain the consent of two-thirds of the Senate, or to secure an act of Congress, before the United States can exit the alliance. Analysts cited in multiple reports noted that assembling that level of congressional support would be extremely difficult. Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty does allow for voluntary departure, stipulating that a member state may leave one year after submitting formal notice of withdrawal. No country has ever left NATO in the alliance's more than 80-year history, though France withdrew its forces from the military command structure in 1966 and did not reintegrate until 2009. Even short of a formal exit, analysts noted that Washington retains extensive informal leverage — including arms supplies, intelligence sharing, and logistical support — that could be used to pressure individual allies. Deutsche Welle reported that some analysts believe Trump could effectively render NATO non-functional without ever formally withdrawing.

NATO was founded in 1949 with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington. During his first term as president, Trump repeatedly described NATO as "obsolete" and threatened to withhold U.S. support from allies that did not meet defense spending targets. France's partial departure from NATO's military command structure in 1966 under President Charles de Gaulle remains the closest historical precedent for a major member distancing itself from the alliance; France rejoined the integrated military structure in 2009. Spain joined NATO in 1982 and held a referendum on continued membership in 1986, which resulted in 56.85% of voters supporting continued participation.

Trump address on Iran war scheduled for early Thursday morning Trump was scheduled to deliver a primetime address on the Iran war at 3 a.m. Polish time on Thursday, April 2, 2026. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted that "the lights will not go out in the chancellery" that night, though the newspaper acknowledged it was not known what the U.S. president planned to announce. The NATO crisis unfolded against the backdrop of a broader diplomatic scramble over the Strait of Hormuz, with the United Arab Emirates reportedly pressing for a multinational coalition — potentially backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution — to forcibly reopen the waterway, according to the Wall Street Journal. Within NATO itself, multiple officials were reported to be treating Trump's and Rubio's statements with relative calm, with some suggesting the pressure was primarily intended to extract greater allied support for the U.S. position on Iran rather than signal an imminent formal withdrawal. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung nonetheless concluded that European governments "still cling, although it already seems desperate, to the hope that there are still enough sensible people among Republicans" to prevent a formal rupture.

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