Trump Proposes NATO Help Secure U.S. Southern Border

(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump suggested that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization could demonstrate the alliance’s usefulness by deploying forces to safeguard America’s southern frontier, an idea he shared on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

In his post, Trump wrote, “Maybe we should have put NATO to the test: Invoked Article 5, and forced NATO to come here and protect our Southern Border from further Invasions of Illegal Immigrants, thus freeing up large numbers of Border Patrol Agents for other tasks.”

Trump has frequently faulted NATO, arguing that many allies benefit from U.S. security guarantees without contributing their fair share.

His latest remarks reflect his ongoing discontent with the alliance’s structure and commitments, repeating his long‑standing contention that NATO does not adequately support the United States in return for American defense spending.

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which Trump referenced, is the alliance’s cornerstone provision for collective defense. It states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all and has been invoked only once — by the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, prompting allied support in Afghanistan.

Trump’s proposal to activate Article 5 for border security would mark a significant expansion of its scope, as the clause traditionally applies to external military threats rather than migration issues. Experts and NATO officials have underscored that using the mutual‑defense mechanism in this way would deviate from past practice and raise questions about the alliance’s mandate.

These comments arrive against the backdrop of Trump’s recent speeches at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he openly questioned whether NATO members would defend the United States if called upon, even as he pursues broader discussions on security cooperation with European partners.

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