quarta-feira, 1 de abril de 2026
In multiple interviews on April 1, 2026, President Donald Trump stated he is "absolutely" considering withdrawing the United States from NATO. He described the 32-member alliance as a "paper tiger" and indicated that a potential U.S. exit is now "beyond reconsideration".
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Trump
says he is ‘absolutely’ considering withdrawing US from Nato
In
multiple interviews on April 1, 2026, President Donald Trump stated he is
"absolutely" considering withdrawing the United States from NATO. He
described the 32-member alliance as a "paper tiger" and indicated
that a potential U.S. exit is now "beyond reconsideration".
Key
Reasons for Trump's Stance
The
President's remarks follow a significant rift with European allies over the
ongoing U.S.-Israel war in Iran, which began on February 28, 2024:
Lack of
Support in Iran: Trump expressed "disgust" that NATO members refused
to join military operations or send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,
which Iran has blocked in retaliation for the conflict.
Basing
and Overflight Refusals: Several allies, including Spain, Italy, and France,
denied the U.S. use of their military bases or airspace for strikes against
Iran.
"One-Way
Street": Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the
alliance as a "one-way street" where the U.S. defends Europe but
receives no assistance when needed for its own objectives.
Legal and
Practical Hurdles
While
Trump has escalated his rhetoric, a unilateral withdrawal faces substantial
obstacles:
2023
Congressional Law: A measure co-sponsored by Marco Rubio in 2023 requires a
two-thirds Senate super-majority or an Act of Congress to authorize a U.S.
withdrawal from NATO.
Executive
Workarounds: Legal experts suggest Trump could attempt to circumvent Congress
by citing his Commander-in-Chief authority over foreign policy or by
withdrawing troops and personnel from the alliance's command structure without
formally exiting the treaty.
Constitutional
Conflict: Any attempt to bypass the 2023 law would likely trigger a major legal
battle between the executive branch and Congress.
United
Kingdom: Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed that the U.K. is "fully
committed" to NATO but insisted he would not let the country be
"dragged into" the Iran war.
Europe:
Leaders in Germany and Poland have called for calm while reaffirming their
commitment to the alliance, though some expressed "disturbing"
concern that U.S. deterrence is already being weakened.
Trump is
scheduled to address the nation in a primetime speech at 9 p.m. ET on
Wednesday, April 1, to provide further updates on the war and the future of the
alliance.
Trump says he is ‘absolutely’ considering withdrawing US from Nato
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Trump
says he is ‘absolutely’ considering withdrawing US from Nato
The
president, a longtime critic of Nato, has stepped up criticism after allies
refused to join the US-Israel war on Iran
Julian
Borger Senior international correspondent
Wed 1 Apr
2026 17.04 BST
Donald
Trump has said he is “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from Nato,
warning that the matter was “beyond reconsideration” after the refusal of US
allies to join the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The
president’s threats, his most determined to date, have left the alliance facing
its worst crisis in its 77-year history, a former US ambassador has warned.
Trump has
long been vocally sceptical about the benefit of Nato membership to the US, but
since North Atlantic allies have refused to take part in the month-long,
faltering US-Israeli assault on Iran, the president has stepped up his
rhetoric.
He told
Reuters news agency on Wednesday he was “absolutely without question”
considering withdrawal, after telling the Telegraph the matter was “beyond
reconsideration”, insisting he had never been “swayed by Nato”. He signalled
that he would express his disgust for Nato in an address to the nation
scheduled for Wednesday evening.
It could
be politically and constitutionally difficult for Trump to bring about formal
withdrawal from the 1949 Washington treaty, Nato’s founding document, but Ivo
Daalder, US permanent representative at Nato headquarters from 2009 to 2013,
argued the serious damage to the alliance had already been done.
“This is
by far the worst crisis Nato has ever confronted. Military alliances are, at
their core, based on trust: the confidence that if I am attacked, you will come
help defend,” Daalder wrote in an online commentary. “It’s hard to see how any
European country will now be able and willing to trust the United States to
come to its defence.”
Trump
launched the war on Iran on 28 February in partnership with the Israeli prime
minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but without consulting Nato allies. He did not
invoke article 5 of the treaty, which triggers collective defence from other
members in the event of an “an armed attack against one or more of them in
Europe or North America”. Such an attack had not taken place.
More than
a month into the war, there is no sign of the regime change or collapse that
Trump and Netanyahu had hoped for, and Tehran’s response – closing the
economically vital strait of Hormuz – has caused an oil price surge and a
worldwide shortage of fertiliser and other essential goods, threatening a
global recession.
Trump has
swung between claiming a negotiated end to the war is imminent and threatening
a ground assault, while calling on US allies to join the fight and force the
strait back open. None of Washington’s traditional partners have come forward.
Some European allies have declared the US-Israeli attack to be illegal and
several have withheld the overflight rights and use of bases on their
territory.
Trump has
consequently lashed out at European capitals, denouncing them as “cowards”, and
expressing particular contempt for the UK. “You don’t even have a navy,” Trump
told the Telegraph. “You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t
work.”
The
anti-Nato rhetoric has been echoed by the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth,
and by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who was a staunch supporter of the
alliance when he was a senator.
Rubio
told Fox News: “We are going to have to re-examine whether or not this
alliance, that has served this country well for a while, is still serving that
purpose or has now become a one-way street, where America is simply in a
position to help Europe but when we need the help of our allies, they deny us
basing rights and overflight.”
The UK’s
prime minister, Keir Starmer, has shrugged off the administration’s jibes as
“noise”, insisting that “Nato is the single most effective military alliance
the world has ever seen”. He restated his position on the Iran conflict that
“this is not our war, and we’re not going to get dragged into it”.
In
response to previous Trump criticism, the UK and other European allies have
raised their defence spending and tried hard, with diminishing success, to
persuade him to maintain US support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia.
Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, has gone out of his way to flatter Trump,
to the extent of expressing support for the Iran war, despite the opposition of
almost all the alliance’s other 31 members.
“Backing
one ally when 31 oppose isn’t the best way to maintain unity,” Daalder said.
“We also now know that Trump does his own thing and doesn’t listen to anyone,
including Trump whisperers.”
In an
effort to “Trump-proof” the alliance, Congress passed the National Defence
Authorization Act (NDAA) in 2024, prohibiting a US president from unilaterally
withdrawing the US from Nato without two-thirds Senate approval or an act of
Congress – a provision co-sponsored by Rubio. The NDAA also prohibits using any
federal funds to facilitate a withdrawal.
“Congress
will not sit by while this president tries to unravel an alliance that has kept
Americans safe for decades,” the Democratic senator Mark Warner said on
Wednesday. “Our commitment to Nato is ironclad, and we will use every tool
available to defend it.”
Any
attempt to leave Nato formally would be likely to trigger a constitutional
crisis that would almost certainly go to the US supreme court. However, the
court has a record of siding with the executive in disputes over foreign policy
issues.
“Other
presidents have withdrawn from treaties,” Daalder pointed out. “In any case,
whatever the legal status, Trump can undermine Nato by withdrawing troops,
pulling US personnel from the Nato command structure and doing little if
anything in case of an attack – all perfectly legal.”
Ruth
Deyermond, a senior lecturer at the department of war studies in King’s College
London, said the crisis facing the alliance would not simply recede at the end
of Trump’s White House tenure. “This is wishful thinking,” Deyermond said on
Bluesky. “The failure to understand the importance of the alliance for US
security and the taking of allies for granted isn’t unique to the Trump
administration.”
“This is
why the old Nato is gone and Europeans (plus Canada), need to develop a new
security framework to replace it,” she said. “It’s frightening, difficult, and
expensive, but that doesn’t make it less necessary or urgent.”
Starmer
signalled on Wednesday that he would use an upcoming summit with EU countries
to solidify economic and security ties, calling for: “A partnership for the
dangerous world that we must navigate together.”
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