Mr Trump’s comments come as Ukraine remains mired in its efforts to stave off Russia’s invasion and as Republicans in Congress have become increasingly skeptical of providing additional aid money to the country as it struggles with stalled counteroffensives and weapons shortfalls.
They also come as Mr Trump and his team are increasingly confident he will lock up the nomination in the coming weeks following commanding victories in the first votes of the 2024 Republican nominating calendar.
Earlier on Saturday, Mr Trump called for the end of foreign aid “WITHOUT ‘STRINGS’ ATTACHED”, arguing that the US should dramatically curtail the way it provides money.
“FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, ARE YOU LISTENING US SENATE(?), NO MONEY IN THE FORM OF FOREIGN AID SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ANY COUNTRY UNLESS IT IS DONE AS A LOAN, NOT JUST A GIVEAWAY,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media network in all-caps letters.
During his 2016 campaign, Mr Trump alarmed Western allies by warning that the United States, under his leadership, might abandon its Nato treaty commitments and only come to the defence of countries that meet the alliance’s guidelines by committing 2pc of their gross domestic products to military spending.
Mr Trump, as president, eventually endorsed Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all members.
But he often depicted Nato allies as leeches on the US military and openly questioned the value of the military alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades.
As of 2022, Nato reported that seven of what are now 31 Nato member countries were meeting that obligation — up from three in 2014. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has spurred additional military spending by some Nato members.
Mr Trump has often tried to take credit for that increase, and said on Saturday that, as a results of his threats, “hundreds of billions of dollars came into Nato” – even though countries do not pay Nato directly.