前总统唐纳德·特朗普周一寻求重塑他的政府在加强欧洲安全方面的作用，声称加强北约和用先进武器装备乌克兰军队是他的功劳。
但批评者很快指出，特朗普的“美国第一”外交政策口号经常反映出从盟友那里撤退的努力，经常破坏北约，并一度威胁要扣留对乌克兰的军事援助-这一举动被政府监管机构视为非法，并成为特朗普的核心首次弹劾审判在国会。
“是特朗普破坏了美国的国家安全，冻结了对乌克兰的军事援助，”特朗普政府时期的前国家安全委员会官员亚历山大·温德曼中校退休证明在弹劾调查中，周一告诉ABC新闻。“正是特朗普对北约的攻击和极右翼的支持鼓励普京相信北约是脆弱的。特朗普双手沾满鲜血。”
尽管如此，随着俄罗斯军队周一继续与乌克兰军队发生冲突，特朗普吹嘘加强了乌克兰的国防能力，并宣布如果没有他的努力，“就不会有北约”。
特朗普在一份声明中说:“我希望每个人都能够记住，作为美国总统，是我让拖欠会费的北约成员国开始缴纳会费，这笔款项高达数千亿美元。”
“此外，是我让乌克兰获得了非常有效的反坦克武器(标枪)，当时前任政府正在发送毛毯，”他说。“让历史来记录吧!”
尽管特朗普政府声称要拯救北约(NATO)，这是一个由大西洋两岸29个国家组成的联盟，但他监督了一段与欧洲盟友关系紧张的时期。作为总统，特朗普动摇了他对《北约宪章》第五条的承诺，该条款规定，对一个成员国的攻击相当于对所有成员国的攻击。
Christophe lico PPE/照片新闻通过Getty Images，文件
在这张2017年5月25日的资料照片中，唐纳德·特朗普总统在北大西洋期间..
特朗普政府时期的前副助理国防部长、现任美国广播公司新闻撰稿人米克·马尔罗伊(Mick Mulroy)将第五条描述为“是什么让北约成为历史上最有效的军事联盟。”
在特朗普担任总统期间，与欧洲的关系变得如此紧张，据报道，特朗普曾讨论将美国从北约完全撤出。特朗普的两名前国家安全顾问约翰·博尔顿和约翰·凯利将军公开表示，特朗普表示有兴趣退出联盟。
德国马歇尔基金会(German Marshall Fund)研究员史蒂文·凯尔(Steven Keil)说，“特朗普总统围绕北约的言论有助于增加国防支出，这可能更多是出于对美国对欧洲安全的承诺正在动摇的担忧，而不是对联盟和欧洲-大西洋安全的共同承诺的积极加强。”。
批评者还注意到特朗普在2019年7月与乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskyy)臭名昭著的电话中援引了标枪(Javelin)，这是一种肩射精确导弹系统，旨在摧毁坦克和其他装甲车。
特朗普在2018年批准了向乌克兰出售4700万美元的210枚标枪反坦克导弹和37个发射器，这是自2014年战斗开始以来，美国在打击俄罗斯支持的分裂分子的斗争中向乌克兰提供的首次致命军事援助。根据通话记录，泽伦斯基在2019年的电话中告诉特朗普，他的政府“几乎准备好从美国购买更多标枪用于国防目的”。
特朗普回应说:“我希望你能帮我们一个忙，”然后迫使泽伦斯基与美国司法部长威廉·巴尔和他的私人律师鲁迪·朱利安尼合作，公开宣布对当时的候选人乔·拜登和他的儿子亨特进行调查，后者曾在一家乌克兰石油公司的董事会任职。民主党控制的众议院就此事件投票弹劾特朗普，但他被表现共和党控制的参议院。
美国政府问责局后来发现，特朗普政府在2005年违反了法律扣留了近4亿美元国会拨款给乌克兰。这些资金最终被释放，特朗普政府否认有任何不当行为。
Trump seeks to rewrite his role in bolstering Ukraine, NATO
Former PresidentDonald Trumpon Monday sought to recast his administration's role in bolstering Europe's security, claiming credit for strengthening NATO and arming Ukraine's military with advanced weaponry.
But critics were quick to point out that Trump, whose "America First" foreign policy slogan often reflected efforts to pull back from allies, frequently undermined NATO and once threatened to withhold military aide from Ukraine -- a move that was deemed illegal by a government watchdog and became central to Trump'sfirst impeachment trialin Congress.
"It was Trump that undermined U.S. national security and froze military assistance to Ukraine," retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a former National Security Council official during the Trump administration whotestifiedat the impeachment inquiry, told ABC News on Monday. "It was Trump's attacks on NATO and support from the far-right that encouraged Putin to believe that NATO was fragile. Trump has blood on his hands."
Nonetheless, as Russian troops continued to clash with Ukrainian forces Monday, Trump boasted of fortifying Ukraine's defense capabilities and declared that "there would be no NATO" if not for his efforts.
"I hope everyone is able to remember that it was me, as President of the United States, that got delinquent NATO members to start paying their dues, which amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars," Trump said in a statement.
"Also, it was me that got Ukraine the very effective anti-tank busters (Javelins) when the previous Administration was sending blankets," he said. "Let History so note!"
Despite his claims of saving NATO, an alliance of 29 countries on both sides of the Atlantic, the Trump administration oversaw a period of immense strain with allies in Europe. As president, Trump wavered on his commitment to Article 5 of the NATO charter, which stipulates that an attack on one member state amounts to attack on them all.
Mick Mulroy, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Trump administration and now an ABC News contributor, characterized Article 5 as "what makes NATO the most effective military alliance in history."
Ties with Europe became so strained during Trump's presidency that Trump reportedly discussed removing the U.S. from NATO entirely. Two of Trump's former national security advisers, John Bolton and Gen. John Kelly, have said publicly that Trump expressed an interest in exiting the alliance.
"To the extent President Trump's rhetoric around NATO helped increase defense spending, it was likely more out of a fear that the U.S. commitment to European security was faltering rather than a positive reinforcement of mutual commitments to the Alliance and Euro-Atlantic security," said Steven Keil, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund.
Critics also took note of Trump's invocation of the Javelin, a shoulder-fired precision missile system designed to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles, in his infamous July 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump, in 2018, had approved the $47 million sale of 210 Javelin anti-tank missiles and 37 launchers to Ukraine -- the first lethal military assistance provided to Ukraine by the U.S. in its fight against Russian-supported separatists since fighting began in 2014. Zelenskyy told Trump in the 2019 phone call that his government was "almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes," according to a readout of the call.
Trump responded: "I would like you to do us a favor though," and then pressured Zelenskyy to work with U.S. Attorney General William Barr and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to publicly announce an investigation into then-candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who had previously served on the board of a Ukrainian oil firm. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump over the incident, but he wasacquittedby the Republican-controlled Senate.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office later found that the Trump administration broke the law inwithholding nearly $400 millionin congressional appropriations earmarked for Ukraine. The funds were eventually released, and the Trump administration denied any wrongdoing.
