During a meeting in South Carolina on February 10, Donald Trump created controversy by declaring that, under his presidency, the United States would not protect NATO member countries which are “bad payers”. He also said he would “encourage the Russians to do whatever they want,” calling into question Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty.
This statement provoked an immediate reaction from Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, who recalled that NATO was “not an à la carte alliance”.
The issue of unequal financial participation by NATO member countries is not new. The United States, which contributes more than two-thirds of the alliance’s budget, regularly urges other countries to “share the burden.”
But in the current context of war in Ukraine and the Russian threat on Europe’s borders, the possibility of Donald Trump’s return to the White House worries Europeans, who are forced to rethink their collective security.
Emad Hajjaj is a Jordanian cartoonist, graduated from Yarmouk University in graphic design and journalism. He works for various local and regional newspapers in Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Cartooning for Peace is an international network of cartoonists committed to promoting, through the universality of press cartoons, freedom of expression, human rights and mutual respect between populations of different cultures or beliefs.
This article is originally published on france24.com
