Advertisement

Donald Trump said NATO obsolete during campaign but now no longer the case

Click to play video: 'Trump is grateful for NATO support, condemnation of chemical attack'
Trump is grateful for NATO support, condemnation of chemical attack
WATCH ABOVE: Trump is grateful for NATO support, condemnation of chemical attack – Apr 12, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that NATO is not obsolete, as he had declared on the campaign trail last year, but said NATO members still need to pay their fair share for the European security umbrella.

At a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump thanked NATO members for their support of his decision last Thursday to launch 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack on civilians and said it was time to end Syria’s civil war.

READ MORE: NATO is obsolete, Trump says, but still ‘very important to me’

“I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete,” Trump said, adding that the Transatlantic alliance was adapting to the broader mission against Islamic militants that he had urged.

READ MORE: Donald Trump says Syria airstrike ordered while eating ‘most beautiful piece of chocolate cake’

Stoltenberg said he had an excellent and productive meeting in the Oval Office with Trump.

Story continues below advertisement

WATCH: Trump says NATO members should ‘meet their financial obligations’

Click to play video: 'Trump says NATO members should ‘meet their financial obligations’'
Trump says NATO members should ‘meet their financial obligations’

Sponsored content

AdChoices