President Biden expressed admiration for the 75th anniversary of the NATO allianceth on Thursday, in the face of threats from former President Trump to push for aggression towards members who have not met their obligations.
Biden referred to NATO as “the greatest military alliance in the history of the world,” and added that for 75 years, the “United States and our fellow Allies have chosen to unite to support freedom and resist aggression.”
The president stated that the alliance remained united during the Cold War, invoked Article 5 after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and stood together during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
He also highlighted the recent inclusion of Finland and Sweden as members and argued that now, “NATO is larger, stronger, and more determined than ever before.”
At a February rally, Trump told a story of an unidentified foreign leader questioning his threat not to defend members who do not hit the alliance’s defense spending targets. He said he told them he would “encourage” Russia to do whatever it wishes and recounted saying, “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent.”
Biden hit Trump for those remarks at the time, saying “everything is transactional” for his 2024 GOP rival.
“Now, like generations before us, we must choose to protect this progress and build on it,” Biden stated on Thursday.
“We must remember that the sacred commitment we make to our Allies — to defend every inch of NATO territory — makes us safer too, and gives the United States a bulwark of security unrivaled by any other nation in the world,” the president continued. “And like our predecessors, we must ask ourselves what can we do — what must we do — to create a more peaceful future.”
