Trump Puts America's Allies on Notice

Donald Trump's warning that, as president, he may not support the automatic defense of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally if it is attacked, may well be evidence of the Republican nominee's isolationist views. But more likely, it reflects a belief that rules can be bent when they don't suit him. It has defined the Trump candidacy and it will define his presidency if he wins.

Trump told The New York Times that if Russia attacks the Baltic states, he would first see if these countries "have fulfilled their obligations to us" and then decide whether the U.S. should intervene. Technically, of course, nations' obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty are not to the U.S. but to all of their allies, but that small error may be forgiven because of the huge disparity in military spending between the U.S. and the other NATO states.