"This is traitor talk": Donald Trump hit with backlash for appearing to encourage Russia to attack fellow NATO members

Recently, the former US president Donald Trump found himself in hot water. During his most recent campaign event on Saturday, February 10, in South Carolina, he went to discuss a prior meeting with the NATO leaders.

In the same event, Donald Trump went on to say that he would "encourage" Russia to attack any NATO member that the US does not think has fulfilled its financial obligations. As per Al Jaazera, Trump recalled the leaders asking:

“Well sir if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia – will you protect us?”

As per the same source, he remembers the further conversation. Doing so, he said:

"I said: ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’ He said: ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay."

However, his comments drew wide criticism. Donald Trump's remarks that the United States should not assist NATO in defending allies from a potential Russian invasion have been denounced as "unhinged" even by the White House.

On the other hand, once his comment was made public, it garnered backlash from the netizens.

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Netizens bash Donald Trump for encouraging Russia to attack fellow NATO members

Netizens are bashing Trump for his recent comments (Image via Facebook / Donald J. Trump / NATO)

Donald Trump recently participated in a rally on Saturday, February 10, where encouraged Russia to attack the fellow members of NATO. He even encouraged the aggressors to do whatever they want and that he would not defend a country in arrears on its payments.

Trump's comments on Saturday were derided by other political circles as well. As per sources like The Guradian, according to the conservative political analyst, Alyssa Farah Gryphon, Russian President Vladimir Putin must have found Trump's remarks musical.

Moreover, according to Al Jaazera, the Joe Biden White House swiftly criticized the remarks made by the former president. They stated in a statement:

"Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged – and it endangers American national security, global stability, and our economy at home."

As per BBC, the White House even referred to the remarks as "appalling and unhinged." On the other hand, as per Times of India, President Joe Biden said:

"Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership and stand up for our national security interests – not against them."

However, once this video of Trump went viral, it sparked criticism among netizens. They took to the comment section of Biden HQ’s X post to slam the former president.

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While Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio supports Trump, the Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg condemned him for his words

Following the event, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio attempted on Sunday, February 11, to minimize the significance of Trump's statements. Rubio told CNN:

"Trump was talking about a story that happened in the past when he was president. He didn’t pull us out of Nato, and American troops are stationed throughout Europe then as they are today."

On the other hand, following Donald Trump's invitation to Russia to attack the NATO members, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg declared that any attack on the Western Military Alliance would be faced with a unified and robust response.

As per The Guardian, in a statement, Stoltenberg stated that any insinuation that allies will not stand by one another compromises US security. It also does the same to the security of allies worldwide and increases the risk to US and European forces.

He further said that he had anticipated that the US would continue to be a steadfast and devoted member of NATO, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election.