US president criticises alliance as ‘paper tiger’, says NATO membership is ‘beyond reconsideration’
US President Donald Trump talking to audience in Memphis on March 23, 2026 at the event on DHS funding event. PHOTO: SCREEN GRAB
President Donald Trump said that he is considering pulling the US out of NATO after the allies refused to support the Iran war, according to The Telegraph on Wednesday.
In an interview with the newspaper, Trump called the alliance a “paper tiger”, saying that withdrawing the US from the defence treaty was no longer under consideration.
Asked whether he would reconsider US membership in the alliance after the conflict, Trump said the issue was “beyond reconsideration”.
“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” he said.
NATO allies have shown reluctance to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route that typically carries about 20% of global oil shipments, while Iran has effectively kept the strait closed for weeks, disrupting energy flows, driving up oil and gas prices, and raising concerns over a potential global recession.
Read More: Trump says US to leave Iran ‘pretty quickly’ and return if needed, says Khamenei asked for ceasefire
Trump also said the lack of support was difficult to comprehend. “Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t do a big sale. I just said, ‘Hey’, you know, I didn’t insist too much. I just think it should be automatic.”
“We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us,” the president said.
Referring to the UK, Trump also criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer for declining to take part in the US-Israeli war against Iran, casting doubt on the Royal Navy’s capabilities.
“You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work,” he said, referring to the state of Britain’s fleet of warships.
When asked whether the UK prime minister should increase defence spending, Trump said he would not advise him, adding that Starmer can “do whatever he wants” and criticising his focus on wind energy, which he claimed is driving up energy costs.
The White House has voiced growing frustration with allies over the war, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling NATO a “one-way street” and criticising members for denying US access to bases.
He said Washington may “re-examine” its NATO membership after the war, a stance Trump said he was “glad” Rubio had taken.
