Trump called NATO a "paper tiger" without US help

US President Donald Trump said that NATO desperately needs the United States, because without Washington's support, the alliance is a "paper tiger." He announced this on April 21 during an interview with Joe Kernen for CNBC.

"You know, NATO told me: no, we will send someone as soon as everything is over. I said it's not <...> We don't need it. In fact, we will never need them. They're going to need us—desperately, because they're a paper tiger," Trump said.

The American leader also noted that he had talked about this even before he entered politics, and he liked to watch what was happening.

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On April 15, Trump spoke about the nature of Washington's relations with NATO, saying that the alliance had not provided support to the United States and would not provide it in the future. He expressed dissatisfaction with the refusal of a number of NATO countries to support the US military operation in the Strait of Hormuz.

On April 1, the American leader announced that he was seriously considering the US withdrawal from NATO after the alliance refused to help in the conflict with Iran. According to him, the North Atlantic Alliance has never influenced him. Trump called the participants paper tigers.

On March 15, Donald Trump appealed to countries dependent on oil supplied through the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran, to ensure the safety of this transport route. He then threatened NATO with a "bad future" if it refused to help unblock the water area.