European veterans slam 'draft-dodging moron' Trump after he claims US 'never needed' NATO

23 January

U.S. President Donald Trump at Zurich International Airport in Switzerland, January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

After al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) invoked Article 5 — a mutual defense agreement. The use of Article 5, post-9/11, meant that when al-Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., it was regarded as an attack on all NATO countries. And troops from other NATO members joined U.S. troops during military operations in Afghanistan.

Yet U.S. President Donald Trump is a persistent critic of NATO, claiming that it is of little or no value to the United States. And Trump, The Guardian's Jamie Grierson observes in an article published on January 23, set off outrage in European NATO countries after implying that they wouldn't help out the U.S. militarily if asked.

During an appearance on Fox Business, Trump commented, "We've never needed them. They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan.… and they did. They stayed a little back, a little off the frontlines."

But some of Trump's European critics are pointing out that when he was young during the 1960s and 1970s, he avoided military service.

Scotland-based journalist/author Stephen Stewart, himself a veteran, argued, "Trump's comments are as offensive as they are inaccurate. It's hugely ironic that someone who allegedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam War should make such a disgraceful statement. He has desecrated the memory of hundreds of British soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan, people who we called friends and comrades. If he was a man of honor, he would get down on bended knees to ask forgiveness from the families of the fallen."

In a January 22 post on X, formerly Twitter, Stewart wrote, "Spitting on the graves of the fallen. This draft dodging moron has desecrated the memory of hundreds of British soldiers who died in Afghanistan. Our friends, our comrades. Vile."

In an equally scathing January 22 post on X, Ed Davey — leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in the U.K. — wrote, "Trump avoided military service 5 times. How dare he question their sacrifice. [Nigel] Farage and all the others still fawning over Trump should be ashamed."

Read The Guardian's full article at this link.

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