Donald Trump stands by remarks about not defending NATO members after backlash

By MEG KINNARD and MICHELLE L. PRICE
Associated Press

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is defending saying he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that don’t meet defense spending targets days after his comments set off alarm in the U.S. and among its allies. On Wednesday Trump, responding to the backlash while speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina, re-told a version of the story in which he said, as president, he told an unidentified NATO member that he would not defend member countries if they did not meet the trans-Atlantic alliance’s defense spending targets. This time, though, he left out the line that drew the most outrage about encouraging Russia “to do whatever the hell they want.”