Former President Donald Trump has made a welcome clarification that he would “100%” defend NATO allies that meet the alliance’s defense spending target of 2% of their GDP. Amid the war in Ukraine and associated Russian threats to Europe, there is no excuse for any NATO member not to meet that target.

In an interview with GBNews’s Nigel Farage, Trump was asked about recent comments in which he said he would encourage Russia to attack a NATO ally that spent less than 2% of GDP. He told Farage that “what I’m saying is a form of negotiation. Why should we guard these countries that have a lot of money and the United States was paying for most of NATO? When I went there, I had already had it out with them. They then stopped paying again. But now, they’re paying because of those comments that you saw two, three weeks ago. I don’t know if you know, but a lot of money’s come in since those comments were made.”