Donald Trump appeared to change his tone on
NATO after the uproar over his previous comments saying that he would encourage
Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to members who don’t pay their fair share. Speaking to former
Brexit leader
Nigel Farage on GB News, Mr Trump said the US would “100 per cent” back Nato members who pay up. But he also asked, “Why should we guard these countries that have a lot of money?” “Now they're paying because of those comments that you saw two or three weeks ago,” he told Mr Farage. “I don't know if you know, but a lot of money's come in since those comments were made. NATO was not paying.” Nato members have agreed to spend at least two per cent of GDP on their own defence, a goal several members have yet to achieve. “I went to the first meeting early in my administration, and I saw what was going on and I said ‘you're gonna have to pay your bills, everybody,’” Mr Trump told GB News. “The second meeting, I hit them hard. And the question was asked by the head of a major country in front of everyone else, 28 countries at the time, including us, they said, ‘so if we don’t pay our bills, are you going to protect us from Russia?’” Mr Trump claimed. “I said, ‘You mean you're delinquent? You're not paying the bills?’ ... We're not going to defend you if you're not paying your bills. We're not going to defend you. It's very simple,” he added. “And hundreds of billions of dollars came flowing in – now if I say ‘yes, I am’. They're not going to pay their bills.” Mr Trump referred to it as a “negotiation tactic” in the interview. “NATO became strong because of me,” he claimed. More follows...