Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday tried to beat back Donald Trump’s signal that the U.S. might reconsider the NATO alliance under his presidency, but declined to wade any further into the politics of the race for the White House.
Asked at a press conference to respond to Donald Trump’s comments that he would not come to the aid of NATO allies unless they invested the required amount into defense, Kerry said he is “not allowed under law to get into” the pros and cons of each candidate.
But he did emphasize President Obama’s stance on NATO, to let NATO partners “be clear on where we stand.”
“This administration just like every administration, Republican and Democrat alike since 1949, remains fully committed to the NATO alliance and to our security commitments under Article 5,” Kerry said.
Donald Trump has faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for putting a price on securing American intervention in case of a military crisis.
