Matt Gaetz Proposes That Trump ‘Offer NATO Membership to Russia’: ‘Before You Suggest I’m Crazy…’
One America News host and former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz proposed that Russia be offered membership in NATO on Monday during a monologue about cooperation between Washington, D.C. and Moscow.
“I’ve got an idea. Offer NATO membership to Russia,” said Gaetz on The Matt Gaetz Show. “Of course, for this carrot, Trump would need to get everything he wants out of Putin regarding the end of hostilities, economic cooperation, and territorial disputes.”
He continued, “Before you suggest I’m crazy for thinking about NATO and Russia as partners, the idea has been floated by foreign policy thinkers on the right and left for some time. In 1997, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on NATO expansion. President Clinton’s secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, reflected on groundbreaking cooperation between NATO and Russia.”
“That fruit didn’t germinate, because instead of doubling down on cooperation with Russia, the thinking prevailed that we had to expand NATO and encircle Russia. We learned that an animal backed into a corner can lash out,” Gaetz argued. “We chose encirclement over cooperation when people were saying cooperation could be part of our forward-looking path with Russia.”
“Michal McFaul was President Obama’s ambassador to Russia. In 2006, he wrote an article entitled, ‘Why a Democratic Russia Should Join NATO.’ Again, this reinforces that NATO membership is an earned reward, not an entitlement, but why not give Russia a chance to earn it?”
The former congressman concluded, “NATO membership for Russia isn’t coming tomorrow, but to make peace, everyone needs to give up something and get something. Everyone needs to feel safer in peace than at war. Making war is easy, all you have to do is attack. Making peace is hard, but at least the Trump administration is making progress. We believe that progress could and ultimately should lead to NATO expansion to Russia if everyone behaves.”
Watch above via One America News.
