Turner defends Trump’s comments on NATO: Trump’s ‘political rallies’ don’t translate into his ‘actual policies’

House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) defended former President Trump’s recent comments on NATO, claiming what the former president says at his rallies does not translate into his “actual policies.”

NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Turner on “Meet the Press” to respond to Trump’s recent comments on NATO, in which he claimed to have warned a foreign leader that if that country didn’t contribute enough to the alliance, then Russia could “do whatever the hell they want.” Turner argued that Trump increased funding for NATO, adding that “he is very, very strong in his support for” the alliance.

“This is what I know. Donald Trump’s political rallies don’t really translate into Donald Trump’s actual policies,” he said in his interview airing Sunday.

“If you look at his policies, if you look at his record, he actually increased funding for NATO, increased the European Reassurance Initiative, and in fact for Ukraine, he was the first president to give lethal weapons to Ukraine. So I think his record is strong, and I think that’s what’s important,” he continued.

Trump has been critical of NATO in the past and has expressed grievances about countries that he says do not contribute their fair share to the alliance. The former president frequently attacked the alliance while he was in office and has since doubled down on his remarks regarding Russia and NATO.

His argument largely centers on calls to get all NATO members to commit 2 percent of their gross domestic product to defense spending, a benchmark NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said at least half of the 31-member alliance are set to meet in 2024. This is up from the seven members who did so in 2022.

Some Republicans have pushed back on Trump’s remarks, while others have attempted to downplay them. President Biden said in a statement that Trump’s comments on the alliance were “appalling and dangerous.”