Europe fears Trump will pull the US out of NATO American pundits talk to Caliber.Az

Several European officials said that there is growing anxiety among their governments amid the upcoming elections in the United States, according to The New York Times (NYT).

According to the officials with whom the NYT journalists managed to talk, the fear is that the return of former US President Donald Trump to the White House may cease the delivery of aid to Ukraine and "alienate the United States from Europe and destroy NATO".

"There is a great fear in Europe that a second Trump presidency will lead to a de facto withdrawal of the United States from NATO," said retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis, former commander-in-chief of the North Atlantic Alliance's Joint Force. It would be a huge strategic and historic failure for our country.”

According to the publication, in this regard, European ambassadors and representatives of think tanks are making secret visits to Trump's associates to learn about his intentions, the publication writes.

So how likely is it that if Trump returns to the White House, he will leave NATO unattended and the countries of Europe without decisive support in the face of possible external aggression? Could Trump really have such intentions?

These questions are quite pertinent, given that the rating of US presidential candidate Donald Trump is slightly higher than that of America's current leader Joe Biden. The Wall Street Journal writes that. While 47 per cent of participants in a media poll are now ready to vote for Donald Trump, 43 per cent are ready to vote for Joe Biden.

These questions were answered by American experts to Caliber.Az.

Political observer John Varoli noted that, firstly, he can say with 99 per cent certainty that Trump will lose the presidential election.

"The oligarchs of our entire political and business establishment do not want him to win and are expending enormous resources and effort to prevent him from winning. This is obviously the reason why Trump is now facing Soviet-style pseudo-justice, with an absurd 90 criminal charges against him! It is very important to realise that the good old free and democratic US no longer exists. The US is now a brutal empire, full of ruthless internal battles in the imperial capital (Washington DC), while various factions fight behind the scenes for power.

I said that there is a 99 per cent chance that Trump will lose. That 1 per cent chance that he could win is only if a miracle from God happens. But even if Trump somehow miraculously wins the election, I still doubt that the US will quit NATO. If he wins, he will still have to face enormous pressure and threats not to withdraw the US from NATO. Trump could have made that decision when he was in power, but he didn't. So, all this talk about Trump wanting to pull the US out of NATO is just a political move by his enemies and their attempt at fear-mongering to damage his reputation," the columnist said.

And here's the irony: Trump's enemies are so disconnected from the American people that they don't realise that most Americans are indifferent to NATO, he said.

"Let's remember that NATO has only given the United States a colossal headache. We are involved in this costly and deadly war in Ukraine precisely because of NATO's efforts to expand its presence in that country. Thanks to NATO, we are now a few seconds away from nuclear annihilation. NATO is clearly not protecting the interests of the American people; it is only protecting the interests of our ruling class," Varoli said.

As for the future of Europe, he believes that the EU definitely has sufficient military power.

"No one can invade Europe. In any case, the events of the last 30 years show that it is Europe that is the aggressor - I mean that through NATO Europe has joined the 30-year modern crusade of the US against Muslim countries. NATO expansion is the reason for the current senseless war against Russia, in which the Ukrainian people are being used as cannon fodder (this is a typical European imperial tactic - divide and conquer).

In the context of these facts, NATO is the aggressor and the main destabilising force in international relations. If Trump can put an end to NATO, the world will be much safer," Varoli believes.

As analyst, publicist, and professor Grigory Ioffe said in his turn, the history of scaremongering about Trump is already long enough.

"In 2015-2016, there was talk that he would start World War III. Now it is clear that under Trump no wars started, but it was under Biden that we came to the threshold of World War III. Then there was the perennial bogeyman that Trump is Putin's puppet. And there is nothing left of it. Now they say that Trump will be a dictator and will not leave the White House in 2028. They say all the things you reproduced. In my opinion, it's all propaganda, and of a very low calibre. Naturally, it is designed to frighten. But today a dozen, if not more, reputable polls show that Trump has pulled away from Biden. And not only in the country as a whole, but, most importantly, in the swing states," the professor emphasised.

As for NATO, Trump has advocated that European allies contribute at least 2 per cent of GDP to the NATO treasury. He has achieved something, but not much. It is extremely unlikely that the country under Trump will leave NATO altogether. Election talk should be divided by five, if not ten. But he will presumably continue to force Europeans to spend money on their own defence.

Trump is the least suited for the role of a dictator in general. If only because he is not very organised and likes to improvise. Some of his Republican electoral rivals, especially Nikki Haley, are much better suited for the role of a dictator. Let alone the Democrats who advocate censorship and political investigations, prosecution of political opponents, and a greater role for the FBI and CIA in domestic politics. Don't take hoaxes at face value. This is my opinion," Ioffe concluded.