Trump insists NATO threats are negotiating tactic: ‘I love Europe’

Trans-Atlantic anxiety about Donald Trump’s willingness to defend NATO allies from Russia stems from a misunderstanding of his “negotiating tactic” about defense spending, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has signaled.

“I’m negotiating because I want them to pay,” Trump told Time magazine in an interview published this week. “I want Europe to pay. I want nothing bad to happen to Europe, I love Europe, I love the people of Europe, I have a great relationship with Europe. But they’ve taken advantage of us, both on NATO and on Ukraine.”