Fox’s Brit Hume Admonishes Trump Over NATO Comments: ‘This Kind of Talk Tempts Dictators’

Fox News Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume criticized recent remarks by former President Donald Trump, who said he would not defend besieged NATO allies that do not meet their spending quotas.

NATO member states are required to spend at least two percent of GDP on national defense, but several have come up short. The matter was a sticking point for Trump during his presidency. At a rally on Sunday, Trump claimed he spoke with the leader of a NATO ally who asked if the U.S. would defend their country if Russia invaded.

“No, I would not protect you,” Trump said he told the leader. “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”

The comments drew stinging rebukes from Republican senators.

Appearing on Monday’s Special Report on Fox News, Hume addressed the controversy.

“It’s typical Trump loose talk,” he said. “My guess is that he meant that as a way of threatening the NATO allies that haven’t paid their full freight to which they are supposedly committed and have said they would pay. And they’re not doing it. Some of them are, but some of them are not. And so he’s trying to get them to pony up. But loose talk about possibly not backing our NATO allies in the event of an attack from an enemy, particularly including Russia, is not helpful.”

Hume noted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which is not a NATO member– has strengthened and enlarged the alliance. He also hit Trump because, he said, the former president’s rhetoric entices autocrats.

“The president is not wrong that somehow have not paid their full freight, but this kind of talk temps dictators, tempts aggressors, and doesn’t help,” he concluded.

Watch above via Fox News.

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