During an interview aired on Wednesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Czech President Petr Pavel stated that 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pushed NATO “in the right direction. We may criticize the way — how he presented the arguments, but the arguments themselves were fair, because what he wanted was the fair share of our responsibility.”
Pavel said he is following the 2024 election closely, adding, “The democratic world is always looking for a leader, someone to look at in times of crisis and difficulties. And the United States [is] naturally leading the democratic world, because it’s the most powerful country of this family. It doesn’t mean that we should be all dependent on the United States. I think that it’s about a true partnership. Europe should be able to provide much more in terms of its own defense and capabilities.”
He added, “Decades ago, the share was, let’s say, roughly 50-50 between European allies and the United States. Over time, it turned into 75% for the United States and only 25 for Europe. It’s not fair. And we should come back now to a reasonable share of our responsibility.”
Co-host Geoff Bennett then asked, “In your view, what would Donald Trump winning back the White House in November mean for the future of the NATO alliance and the security of individual NATO countries?”
Pavel responded, “Well, I believe, with the experience that we had from his term from 2016 to 2020, he had a number of strong expressions. But, in reality, he pushed the alliance in the right direction. We may criticize the way — how he presented the arguments, but the arguments themselves were fair, because what he wanted was the fair share of our responsibility. A number of countries are now meeting the commitment to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense. A number of countries are heavily investing into modernization. So, I think his message came through. If Donald Trump gets elected again, I don’t think it will mean any disaster for Europe or Ukraine, because the United States [is] aware that they need Europe, the same way as Europe needs the United States.”
Bennett then asked, “Is that a view that is shared among other NATO countries?”
Pavel answered, “I believe so, because a number of countries understand the rationale behind these calls on NATO European allies, because we were truly spending much less than was necessary. And we all realize that, with Russia being the most urgent and imminent threat to European security, we need, effectively, to do more. So, even without any strong calls from the United States, we are doing that in our self-interest.”
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