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Topic: Congress, and The President Blog Brand: US Politics Region: Americas Tags: Donald Trump, NATO, North America, United States, and US Senate Trump Says He Wants to Leave NATO. Here’s Why He Can’t. April 4, 2026 By: Peter Suciu
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Withdrawal from NATO would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, which remains overwhelmingly pro-NATO on both sides of the aisle.
President Donald Trump has been critical of the NATO military alliance for many years. However, his rhetoric has grown distinctly sharper in recent weeks, after most of its members declined to provide substantial support for Operation Epic Fury. Indeed, the 47th president hinted in an interview on Wednesday that he might attempt to pull the United States out of the alliance altogether in the near future.
This isn’t the first time the president has suggested withdrawing from NATO, even though it is generally regarded as the most successful defensive military alliance in world history.
Trump’s comments are all the stranger considering that, on the ground, the United States continues to be actively involved with NATO in Europe. Indeed, on Thursday—only one day after Trump’s comments regarding withdrawal—US Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) confirmed in a media statement that it would “conduct a series of exercises across the High North, Baltic region, and Poland from late April through May 2026, leveraging cutting-edge capabilities to demonstrate credible deterrence in the land domain.”
The drills, known as Sword 26, are expected to focus on “operationalizing NATO’s Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative (EFDI).” They take place less than a month after a series of similar exercises between NATO navies in the Arctic.
“Sword 26 tests our lethality and ability to harness data and AI-enabled warfare at scale to operate with NATO Allies. It’s the application of Army Transformation to fight NATO’s regional plans across all domains in the High North, Baltic region, and Poland,” said Army Gen. Christopher Donahue, USAREUR-AF’s commanding general.
Trump Can’t Withdraw the US from NATO Without Congress
Despite Trump’s comments, his hands are essentially tied on formally remaining a part of the NATO alliance. US participation in NATO has its basis in the North Atlantic Treaty, which has been in effect since 1949.
While the Constitution requires the Senate to approve treaties, it is silent on the process of withdrawing from them. Past presidents have sometimes unilaterally withdrawn from defense treaties without consulting Congress. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter withdrew the United States from its mutual defense treaty with Taiwan. An ensuing Supreme Court case, Goldwater v. Carter, determined that the process of withdrawing from treaties was a political question and Congress could set the rules for each treaty.
Congress usually does not provide formal guidance on treaty withdrawal, giving the president leeway to make unilateral decisions. In 2019, for instance, Trump withdrew the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty without consulting Congress.
However, in 2023, Congress voted to require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate for US withdrawal from the NATO alliance. That proviso was clearly targeted at Trump, who was then campaigning for re-election. Ironically, it was sponsored by then-senator Marco Rubio, who now serves as Trump’s secretary of state.
There is little chance that Trump can convince two-thirds of the Senate to abandon NATO. Trump’s repeated comments belittling the alliance have received bipartisan condemnation, with many Republican lawmakers joining Democrats in its defense.
“NATO stood by America when we were under attack and came to our aid after the September 11th attacks. Their soldiers fought and died alongside our troops in Afghanistan,” said Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in a joint statement. The two co-chair the Senate’s NATO observer group. “Any president that contemplates attempting to withdraw from NATO is not only fulfilling Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s greatest dreams but would be undermining America’s own national security interests.”
Europe Is Tiring of Trump’s Rhetoric
Trump has repeatedly claimed that NATO members are unreliable and could not be depended on for collective defense in the event of a major conflict. In fact, the only time NATO’s collective defense function—known as “Article 5”—has ever been exercised came in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and all NATO members provided support for America’s ensuing war in Afghanistan.
Trump has downplayed American allies’ efforts in Afghanistan, falsely claiming that European troops “stayed a little back” from the fighting in that country. More than 1,000 non-US NATO troops were killed during the 20-year war.
More recently, the president called for the US to take over Greenland, claiming that Denmark—a key NATO ally—was unable to defend its semi-autonomous territory.
European leaders have expressed frustration over Trump’s failure to support NATO.
“There is too much talk … and it’s all over the place,” France’s President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday during a visit to South Korea. “We all need stability, calm, a return to peace. This isn’t a show!”
“You have to be serious,” Macron added. “When you want to be serious, you don’t go around saying the opposite every day of what you just said the day before. And perhaps you shouldn’t talk every day.”
Amid Trump Threats, America and NATO Continue Regular Cooperation
Beyond the upcoming Sword 26, the US military regularly takes part in joint exercises with NATO partners, including bomber task force (BTF) missions.
The US maintains military bases in a majority of the 32 NATO member countries, primarily in Europe. There are more than 35,000 active-duty US troops at the European Command (EUCOM) headquarters in Germany.
US aircraft also operate from air bases across Europe, and it would be nearly impossible for the US to carry out combat operations against Iran without those facilities.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
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Источник: nationalinterest.org