This is a statement that Donald Trump made to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Davos in 2020, as reported by Thierry Breton. The full statement is: “We were in Davos. And Donald Trump said to Ursula, ‘you need to understand that if Europe is under attack we will never come to help you and to support you, and by the way NATO is dead, and we will leave, we will quit NATO.’"
It was first reported in politico.eu, then found its way in The Guardian, the New York Times, Raw Story and Politico (us). This his credit, President Biden issued a strong statement almost right away: “The idea that he would abandon our allies if he doesn’t get his way underscores what we already know to be true about Donald Trump: The only person he cares about is himself,”
Yes, but we can't take that to the bank, can we?
In the spirit of Judge Pan's wonderfully keen approach, I'd like to suggest you ponder the following hypothetical:
The next French Presidential elections are in 2027. Let's imagine that another far right populist demagogue, Alcide Saucisson, has a respectable lead on the right. Saucisson shares all the common far right tropes, including his slavish admiration for Putin, but he also exhibits what we used to call in the 60s anti-américanisme primaire, aka simple-minded/rabid antiamericanism.
As France has nuclear subs and quite a lot of military hardware, Saucisson issues outlandish statements to the effect that, if elected, if the US continue their [imperialistic, etc. fill in the blank] policies, he will not hesitate to strike back at US bases, ships, etc, etc.
And remember, although yes, France would pay very dearly for it, he has the means literally at his fingertips to atomize New York or Los Angeles.
Perhaps Saucisson won't get elected, perhaps cooler heads would prevail if he does, perhaps he would fall from a window, but overall, I’m asking you: how do you feel about it?