Ahead of NATO’s 75th anniversary summit, as Trump’s MAGA Veepstakes contenders stand by his abandoning our allies and cozying up to dictators, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump and his MAGA Veepstakes contenders have spent years working to undermine the NATO alliance, and if given a second term in the White House, Trump would kill it once and for all. Trump’s VP contenders have been echoing his dangerous rhetoric that puts our national security at risk, questioning our commitments to our allies, opposing funding for Ukraine, and even voted to defund NATO entirely. On day one of a second Trump term, he would hand over our allies to dictators like Putin, cede American leadership abroad, and make the world a more dangerous place. The Biden-Harris administration has spent almost four years cleaning up Trump’s global mess, and will keep repairing our global alliances, sticking by our friends, and standing strong against our adversaries in a second term.”

After repeatedly looking to leave our allies behind during his four years in office, Donald Trump is promising in a second term to “finish the process” of abandoning and undermining NATO, and his MAGA Veepstakes contenders are happy to sign on board.

Ohio Capital Journal: “Ohio senator J.D. Vance accused of playing Putin’s game”

CNN: “Rubio dismisses concerns about Trump’s NATO remarks as backlash mounts.”

The Hill: “Tim Scott blows off Trump’s NATO comments, silence on Navalny”

The Guardian: “‘Nato countries that don’t spend enough on defense, like Germany, are already encouraging Russian aggression and President Trump is simply ringing the warning bell,’ Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a former soldier, told the New York Times.”

Washington Post: “Vance reinforced those concerns on CBS News’s ‘Face the Nation’ in May, when he praised Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban — a hero of the authoritarian right — for having made ‘some smart decisions’ that Americans ‘could learn from.’

“During his short time in the Senate, Vance has been a leader in opposing U.S. aid to Ukraine. ‘I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,’ he told Stephen K. Bannon in 2022.

“How far Rubio has come: This year, he voted against aid to Ukraine on the grounds that it wasn’t paired with measures to close the U.S. southern border. Of course, Senate Republicans and Democrats did negotiate a tough border bill, but Rubio voted against it, apparently because Trump wanted to preserve immigration as a campaign issue.”

Newsweek: “Full List of Republicans That Voted to Defund NATO”

Byron Donalds, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Wesley Hunt, and Michael Waltz voted to defund.

The Independent: “Trump refuses to commit to NATO in second term at Fox News town hall”

Trump: “We have to finish the process we began under my Administration of fundamentally reevaluating NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission.”

Rolling Stone: “​​Trump Plots to Pull Out of NATO — If He Doesn’t Get His Way”

“Donald Trump wanted to pull the United States out of NATO during his first term, but was repeatedly talked out of it by senior administration officials. For a possible second term in the White House, [Trump] is already discussing how he could actually get it done, if his demands aren’t met by NATO.”

Politico: “Trump vowed he’d ‘never’ help Europe if it’s attacked, top EU official says”

Trump has previously said he would have let Putin “take over” parts of Ukraine, and that he would pressure Ukraine to cede territory to Russia – he has praised Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy” and constantly brags about his “good relationship” with Putin.

Washington Post: “Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory… Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force.

“Trump has consistently complimented Putin, expressed admiration for his dictatorial rule and gone out of his way to avoid criticizing him, most recently for the death in jail of political opponent Alexei Navalny.”

Daily Beast: “Fox News Edits Out Trump Saying He Might’ve Let Russia ‘Take Over’ Parts of Ukraine”

“[Trump] revealed how he personally would have prevented the war. According to Trump, all he needed to do was let Russia ‘take over’ parts of Ukraine.”

New York Times: “Mr. Trump often praises Mr. Putin — he has described the invasion of Ukraine as the work of a ‘genius’ — and has long admired him as a ‘strong’ leader.”

Washington Post, February 2022: “‘Genius,’ ‘Savvy’: Trump reacts to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine exactly as you’d expect”

Donald Trump, February 2022: “Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. … Here’s a guy who’s very savvy.”

Trump on Putin: “We had a very good relationship.”

Donald Trump, March 2023: “I got along very well with Putin.”

Trump spent his presidency putting the world’s dictators over our allies, ceding America’s leadership abroad, and making the world less safe. And in a second term, he’d do it again.

Politico: “Trump says he would ‘encourage’ Russia to attack NATO allies who don’t pay up”

New York Times: “America’s Allies Fear That Traditional Ties No Longer Matter Under Trump”

Politico: “Trump’s approach is hurting the U.S., foreign policy experts say”

CNN: “Trump sides with Putin over US intelligence”

ABC News: “Trump spent his latest rally in New Hampshire praising multiple authoritarian leaders and quoting Russian President Vladimir Putin to try and discredit the criminal indictments against him.”

Forbes: “Trump said of his relationships with dictators, ‘the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them,’ which he insisted is ‘not a bad thing.’ 

“‘The easy ones,’ Trump said, referring to America’s allies, ‘I maybe don’t like as much or don’t get along with as much.’”

New York Times: “Much of the world has soured on American leadership since President Trump took office, a loss of faith that has opened up opportunities for other countries like China, Russia and Germany to assert themselves on the international stage, according to an extensive new survey of people living around the globe.”

CNN: “Trump… quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack President Joe Biden as a ‘threat to democracy’ … Trump also praised two other authoritarian foreign leaders, calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ‘highly respected’ and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ‘very nice.’”

Bloomberg: “Trump Lavishes Praise on Orban During Fete at Mar-a-Lago”

Trump: “President Xi of China, powerful kind of a guy. … He controls 1.4 billion people rather ruthlessly.”

Trump: “[Kim Jong Un] is not so fond of this administration but he’s fond of me … He doesn’t like this particular group of people and I understand exactly why.” 

Trump: “I think that, frankly, the enemy from within is more dangerous to our country than China and Russia and others.”

Associated Press: “Trump embracing US adversaries, pushing away its allies”

Business Insider: “China and Russia both think Trump is an ‘easy mark’ to exploit, Trump-era national security adviser says”