The Elephant in the NATO Room: Would Trump Blow It Up?

Washington –

Western leaders are celebrating NATO’s 75th anniversary with an elephant in the room: Will Donald Trump, who could become US president again within months, blow up the alliance?

This week’s summit in Washington will aim, without saying so explicitly, to “protect NATO against Trump” by expanding the role of the alliance itself — notably by supporting Ukraine, whose fight against Russia has drawn skepticism from the Republican candidate.

Both US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg have touted the 32-nation bloc as the most successful military alliance in history, highlighting its role in fighting the Soviet Union and later in protecting Europe’s new democracies after the fall of the Iron Curtain.