In reality, this means nothing. Trump can simply essentially “quiet quit” NATO by simply ignoring it. Don’t go through the formal process of pulling out of it if doing so is going to be too much of a headache. But when the hypothetical situation of Russia invading Lativia becomes reality, Trump could simply respond to his Article V committments by not sending troops. As he is commander-in-chief of our armed forces, this would be well within his rights to do and would have the practical effect of pulling out of NATO without going through the political process of pulling out of NATO.
Sure, we’d still technically be a part of NATO, in the same way that I’m still technically a member of the Catholic church even though I haven’t set foot in a church in about 35 years. I didn’t formally withdraw to avoid family squabbles. I just stopped going. They got the hint eventually. Same thing would apply here.
In reality, this means nothing. Trump can simply essentially “quiet quit” NATO by simply ignoring it. Don’t go through the formal process of pulling out of it if doing so is going to be too much of a headache. But when the hypothetical situation of Russia invading Lativia becomes reality, Trump could simply respond to his Article V committments by not sending troops. As he is commander-in-chief of our armed forces, this would be well within his rights to do and would have the practical effect of pulling out of NATO without going through the political process of pulling out of NATO.
Sure, we’d still technically be a part of NATO, in the same way that I’m still technically a member of the Catholic church even though I haven’t set foot in a church in about 35 years. I didn’t formally withdraw to avoid family squabbles. I just stopped going. They got the hint eventually. Same thing would apply here.