ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump has argued that NATO should be “tested” in response to illegal immigration at the country’s southern border, invoking Article 5 of the alliance’s collective defense principle.
“Maybe we should have put NATO to the test: Invoked Article 5, and forced NATO to come here and protect our Southern Border from further Invasions of Illegal Immigrants, thus freeing up large numbers of Border Patrol Agents for other tasks,” Trump said Thursday on his Truth Social platform.
His comments came after he voiced criticism that NATO does not fully stand behind the US, following remarks by EU leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, who criticized Washington’s attempt to purchase Greenland.
“The problem with NATO is we’d be there for them 100 percent but I’m not sure they’d be there for us,” Trump commented on Wednesday.
However, after attending the 56th annual WEF meeting in Davos, Trump offered a more optimistic assessment while returning from Switzerland to Washington.
“Heading back to D.C. It was an incredible time in Davos. The Greenland structure is being worked on, and will be amazing for the U.S.A., and the Board of Peace is something that the World has never seen before — Very special,” he said on Truth Social.