‘It Literally Is Insane’: Christiane Amanpour Stunned By Trump’s NATO Comments
After former President Donald Trump told a crowd that he’d encourage Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour called the comments “insane.”
Amanpour spoke to CNN anchor Poppy Harlow on Monday, who asked the prolific international journalist for her take on “the door [Trump] opened for Russia” in his comments. Amanpour did not hold back, and she appeared to be taken aback by what Trump said:
You know, Poppy, it is insane. I mean, it literally is insane. In one sentence, President Trump turned the entire post-war, you know, transatlantic security doctrine on its head. He actually, after that, whatever you want to call it, propaganda coup for [Russian President Vladimir Putin], saying that he was going to go for full defeat or only negotiate on his terms over Ukraine, to then say that if he was president, he would not just, you know, not come to the defense of NATO allies, but would encourage Putin to do whatever the hell he likes. You know, it’s almost unbelievable.
It’s an insanity to say that because that is the existential crisis that the world faces right now, the post-World War II, you know, global security operation is based on America and its 30 other NATO allies defending each other and coming to each other’s rescue and protecting and preserving democracy and security, you know, in the West. And [Jens Stoltenberg], the NATO secretary general, said, you know, whoever is president of the United States will be, you know, required to keep up its Article 5 and NATO commitments. I mean, it’s just really so huge. That sentence itself is so huge.
Trump’s comments about NATO were made during a rally in South Carolina on Saturday. He told the crowd in Conway that NATO countries that did not honor their financial commitments should be basically abandoned by their allies and left open to attack by countries like Russia. Several Republican senators disapproved of the comments; the White House called Trump’s comments “appalling and unhinged.”
Watch the video above via CNN.
