Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume said on Monday’s episode of “Special Report” that remarks made by former President Donald Trump at a recent speech in South Carolina emboldened and tempted dictators like Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.
Hume’s first take on Trump’s recent remarks for the segment acknowledged that NATO has not paid the U.S. what it owes.
“My guess about that … it’s typical Trump loose talk. 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,” he said.
“A lot of them are but some of them are not and so he’s trying to get them to pony up,” Hume continued, as if defending Trump’s recent speech, but then began to criticize the former president for taking his jokes too far. “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.”
“The one thing that the war in Ukraine has done is it has brought NATO closer together,” Hume then said, adding: “The alliance now stands at a greater strength than it has in some time and that’s a good thing. And the president is not wrong that some allies have not paid their full freight, but this kind of talk tempts dictators, tempts aggressors, and doesn’t help.”
“No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator. Let me say this as clearly as I can: I never will. For God’s sake, it’s dumb, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous, it’s un-American.”
— President Biden slams Donald Trump’s recent comments on Putin and NATO pic.twitter.com/4xrLi6dLZ0
— The Recount (@therecount) February 13, 2024
Trump warned NATO allies at a recent rally in Conway, South Carolina that as president he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to nations that are “delinquent” on paying their bills for the national security that NATO provides its members.
“You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?” Trump recalled saying to a NATO member nation. “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) responded to Trump’s comments in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “NATO has been a 75-year success story. There hasn’t been war in the region because of NATO. It is a massive mistake for Donald Trump to side with a thug like Putin over our allies and it will put troops in harm’s way.”
NATO has been a 75-year success story. There hasn’t been war in the region because of NATO. It is a massive mistake for Donald Trump to side with a thug like Putin over our allies and it will put troops in harm’s way. pic.twitter.com/LerAtG5jQp
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 12, 2024
