House Republican Warns Trump of GOP ‘Civil War’ if President Withdraws U.S. From NATO
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) warned President Donald Trump that the Republican Party will be “destroyed” in a “civil war” if he in any way tries to leave or break up NATO.
Bacon joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on The Source on Tuesday, where he made it clear to the president that there is a “loss of trust” between the U.S. and its NATO allies and a lot of “work” needs to be done to repair that relationship.
“Is [Trump] wrong when he says that he can leave NATO without Congress?” Collins asked Bacon.
“He’s wrong,” Bacon replied.
The congressman then added his warning about a “civil war” breaking out in the party if the president did take steps to break away from NATO.
He said:
If he broke up NATO on his own, it would be a civil war in the Republican caucus, or the conference. Most of us would find that totally unacceptable. And I’m not alone. There’s a large group of us that believe in our alliances and standing up for freedom and pushing back on China and Russia. We don’t want war with these guys, but you’ve got to be strong. And if he went in and somehow destroyed or tore up NATO, it would probably destroy the party for many years. There would be many that will never forgive that.
“It would destroy the Republican Party?” Collins asked.
“I think it would implode,” Bacon said.
Trump raged at NATO on Tuesday through Truth Social after his plea for them to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran was rejected. The president replied by calling the alliances a “one-way street” and claiming that the U.S. now doesn’t actually “need” their help.
“We no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!” he wrote.
Watch above via CNN.
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