Putin's plan B if Trump loses the US election | Kurt Volker

“Either way, he says, if it’s Trump or Biden, I know I’m in the driver’s seat.”

Former US ambassador to Nato Kurt Volker tells #TimesRadio how Putin will work to use a win by either Trump or Biden to his advantage.

[edjones]

When Americans called article 5, (the only time it was called, ) many countries responded. Ukraine sent some 6100 troops, of which 1660 were permanent.
Ukraine is not a NATO member - 18 Ukrainian soldiers lost their lives in Iraq.

They were not asking for money from the US!

Meanwhile in New York Rudi Giuliani is suing Trump for not paying his legal bills.

[craigshagin]

I don’t think Trump thinks beyond how to get a crowd riled up. It is a mistake to think he thinks

[shiftedprograms]

Being anti Nato is being pro Russia. No 2 ways about it

[gripshaft]

This guys sees himself as a Trump whisper, i think he's more covering for his leaders total ignorance and stupidty.

[johnhughes]

Combined the US's allies have spent more than the US has in support for Ukraine, just the other day the Finns and Norwegians announced their latest aid packages to Ukraine, to the tune of $0.5 billion. That doesn't count the humanitarian and financial aid given by the EU (latest tranche $54 Billion), we Europeans ARE paying our fair share.

[cobbler]

Putin must be putting a lot of money into the election

[everTriumph]

Trump avoids paying any bills. That is one reason he will end in jail.

[theraven]

NATO countries without Canada and US have a population close to 600M people. Russia has a population of less than 150M people and a GDP the size of Italy’s. There is no reason why NATO countries cannot defend themselves even without US involvement. I’m not advocating this as I believe NATO is the cornerstone of US security BUT their defense is well within their population and economic abilities.

[AndyBeltran]

"The possibility of Putin's 'Plan B' underscores the ongoing challenge of defending democratic elections from external influence. It's crucial for democratic nations to collaborate closely in detecting and deterring any attempts at interference.

[ryanhartnett]

Legally, Trump should be disqualified from even running. If he's not, he should still lose to Biden.

[T_-]

If Europe does not contribute its 2%+ on its own; it will embolden Putin to be more aggressive. However, Trump’s statement is reckless and he lacks the intelligence & plan to motivate Europe to do their share. I disagree that Trump wants to assist Ukraine in anyway to defend itself with military aid.

[vincentwerner]

He keeps furthering the argument of delinquency in NATO when the truth is NATO has no dues, and the 2% of budget is a voluntary benchmark, not a mandatory one. Having said so it's very ironic to justify Trump on this when his whole career is based on NOT paying his bills at all ...

[ASBOmarc]

I dare proffer that such shortsightedness is the reason that there is a need in the first place for strategic alliances.

[JayDeeChannel]

First we get nuclear blackmail from Putin, now we have nato blackmail from trump.

[marcusparkus]

THERE ARE NO BILLS! There is a comittment to SPEND 2% of GDP. Big difference!

[marisabenson]

Very poor commentary by this guy and lacking veracity. NATO is not founded on a transactional basis where people pay for services. It is an alliance whereby each member state by joining together will strengthen the other. If union members fail to pay their dues do they not then receive the benefits of union bargaining? It's my experience that even those who are not union members benefit from the awards.
Article 5 apparently is a political agreement and what quid pro quo trump said just undermined the powerful disincentive of aggressor states to move on other states. It must have been music to putins ears.
Lastly is it true that the only time article 5 was invoked was by America when 9/11 happened, which by the way trump recalled as 7/11.

[dirtyharry]

Thank to Tucker Carlson to demonstrate that putin has lost his mind long time ago and in state of paranoid schizophrenia

[CONTACTLIGHTTOMMY]

NATO could reduce their military personnel rosters by 80%, just send more weapons to Ukraine, and be 10 times more secure. A Ukrainian victory will see savings of trillions of NATO dollars over the next 100 years.

[justmehello]

everyone's looking at the presidency when it's Congress and the Senate that Putin needs to keep in disarray.