Biden tells NATO allies he doesn't think Trump 'understands what Article 5 is'

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 23 August 2016

Vice President Joe Biden advised NATO allies Tuesday to take Donald Trump's proposals with a grain of salt. Though alarm bells may be sounding at Trump's suggestion the U.S. could go back on its Article 5 pledge to automatically defend its NATO allies if he's elected, Biden told Baltic leaders it's "nothing that should be taken seriously, because I don't think he understands what Article 5 is." Trump has suggested making U.S. military support contingent upon whether NATO states have fulfilled their financial obligations because, as it stands, he believes NATO is "unfair, economically, to us."

Biden reassured allies the U.S. has "never reneged on any commitment we have made" and emphasized that there is "continued overwhelming bipartisan agreement in the United States of America, in both political parties, to maintain our commitment to NATO." "As a matter of fact our presence will be enhanced, there will be more NATO partners on the Russian border, there will be more than a single tripwire," Biden said. "We are absolutely thoroughly 100 percent committed to our NATO obligation including and especially to Article 5."