Trump lashes out at ‘paper tiger’ NATO while re-upping Greenland claim

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump lashed out on April 6 at NATO allies who did not support the US in the war in Iran and reiterated his desire to annex Greenland.

Mr Trump’s remarks came ahead of a visit by the defence alliance’s chief Mark Rutte scheduled for later this week.

“Look, we went to NATO,” Mr Trump recalled. “I didn’t ask very strongly, I just said: ‘Hey, if you want to help, great.’”

“‘No, no, no we will not help’,” Mr Trump said he was told, while not saying who he spoke to.

Mr Trump went on to say that NATO members had “actually gone out of their way not to help”.

The alliance, Mr Trump said, “is a paper tiger”, that Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s not afraid of”.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who Mr Trump called “a great person”, is expected in Washington this week.

On April 8, he will hold talks with Mr Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Alliance said on April 3.

The remarks mark the latest dust-up between Mr Trump and the alliance.

Mr Trump has made no secret of his desire to annex Greenland – controlled by NATO ally Denmark – which has been strongly resisted by the alliance.

Discussing his displeasure with NATO, Mr Trump said: “It all began with – if you want to know the truth –Greenland.”

“We want Greenland,” Mr Trump said. “They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘bye, bye.’”

Mr Trump also criticised other traditional non-NATO allies, including South Korea, Australia and Japan, for not assisting with the Iran war.

Mr Trump praised gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for their support during the conflict. AFP