US President Donald Trump has once again questioned whether NATO allies “will be there” if the US “ever needs them”, baselessly claiming that NATO forces “remain a little behind” on the front lines in Afghanistan.
“I always said, ‘Are they going to be there if we ever need them?’ This is truly the ultimate test. I’m not sure about that. I know we would have been there, or we would have been there, but would they have been there?” Trump said, Thursday, in an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland.
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States became the first and so far only NATO member state to invoke Article 5, which states that an attack against one member is an attack against all. For twenty years, NATO allies and other partner nations have fought alongside American forces in Afghanistan — a sacrifice that Trump has routinely downplayed.
“We never needed them,” he said. “We never actually asked them for anything. You know, they would say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did — they stayed a little bit back, a little bit away from the front lines.”
The president’s comments angered US allies in NATO, as they came at the end of a week in which he had greatly strained the alliance through his repeated threats to seize Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark, another NATO member.
Although the United States lost in absolute numbers the largest number of troops lost by any NATO country in Afghanistan, some European countries – whose populations are much smaller than the population of the United States – lost a relatively similar number of troops.
About 3,500 Allied soldiers died in the conflict, including 2,456 Americans and 457 Britons. Denmark, which had a population of about 5 million when the invasion began, lost more than 40 soldiers.
The force sent to the southern province of Helmand – a Taliban stronghold and a center for opium production – initially consisted of mostly British and Danish forces, before the United States sent reinforcements in 2008. Britain and Denmark suffered most of their losses in Helmand.
On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly criticized Trump’s “insulting and frankly appalling” statements, and suggested that the US president apologize for his statements.
Starmer said: “I am not surprised that they have caused such harm to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” “If I made a mistake by speaking like this or saying these words, I will definitely apologize.”
Prince Harry, who has been deployed twice to Afghanistan, said in a statement provided by his spokesman that the sacrifices of NATO forces deserve respect.
“In 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in history. It meant that every allied nation was obligated to stand with the United States in Afghanistan, in pursuit of our shared security. And allies answered that call. I served there. I made lifelong friends there. I lost friends there. In the UK alone 457 service members were killed.
“Thousands of lives have been changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried their sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families were left to bear the cost. These sacrifices deserve to be spoken about with honesty and respect, as we all remain united and dedicated to defending diplomacy and peace,” he said in a statement provided by his spokesman on Friday.
Since the beginning of the year, Trump has repeatedly questioned NATO’s willingness to support the United States. “I doubt NATO would be there for us if we really needed them,” he said on Truth Social on January 7. “We will always be there for NATO, even if they are not there for us.”
Before Trump’s comments to Fox News, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte responded to the president’s previous attempts to downgrade the alliance’s willingness to support the United States.
“One thing I heard you say yesterday and today is that you weren’t quite sure the Europeans would come to the rescue of the United States if it was attacked,” Rutte said Wednesday in Davos, sitting next to Trump. “Let me tell you they will. They did it in Afghanistan, you know.”
“For every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there is one soldier from another NATO country who did not return to his family,” Rutte said. “This is important. It hurts me if you think it isn’t.”
British lawmakers from across the political spectrum also expressed anger at Trump’s comments.
Defense Secretary John Healey said: “NATO Article 5 was triggered only once. The UK and NATO allies responded to the American call. More than 450 British soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan.” “We must remember these British soldiers for what they were: heroes who gave their lives in the service of our nation.”
Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said Trump’s comments were an “absolute insult”, while Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, called them “blatant nonsense”, saying allies’ sacrifices “deserve respect, not denigration”.
Other members of the Trump administration also downplayed the sacrifices made by NATO allies in Afghanistan. In June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said fellow US forces in Afghanistan were joking that the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) acronym on their shoulder badges – which stands for “International Security Assistance Force” – actually stood for “I’ve Seen Americans Fight.”
“What ended up being a lot of flags…was not a lot of capabilities on the ground,” Hegseth said, belittling the efforts of NATO allies.
CNN Wire & 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Company. Discovery. All rights reserved.