Why is Germany worried about Donald Trump's reelection?

Germany has recently expressed its fear about the survival of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is elected once again to the White House in November, according to a New York Times report.

Former president Donald Trump while addressing his supporters last month said that "we're paying for Nato, and we don’t get so much out of it."

Trump told his supporters in Las Vegas, Nevada: "And you know – I hate to tell you this about Nato — if we ever needed their help, let's say we were attacked, I don’t believe they’d be there. I know the people."

Trump has repeatedly criticised the role of Nato in America’s favour terming it obsolete in 2017.

The 77-year-old former commander-in-chief of the US is seeking re-election despite his criminal indictments and legal troubles. He has been leading the Republican party’s nomination race by recently winning the two primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire.

In an article published Saturday, a New York Times claimed that German officials are worried about Nato if Trump pulled the US out of the military alliance that came into being in 1949.

The report also underlined the thinking in the US about pulling off rather than reinvigorating a renewed sense of commitment to the alliance in the wake of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

"Their immediate concern is growing pessimism that the United States will continue to fund Ukraine’s struggle," the report underlined referring to the delayed Ukrainian military aid bill that has been in limbo in Congress.

In a New York Times report released in December, several officials from the EU and think tank representatives met with associates of Trump to inquire whether he was planning to pull the US out.

In the same month, former Trump Secretary of Defence Mark Esper told MSNBC that if reelected, the business mogul "would withdraw support for Ukraine."

"His next move would be to begin pulling us out of NATO, certainly troops out of Nato countries," the former secretary said.

Last week, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg told Politico that he is not worried about the US pulling out if the criminally-charged former president assumes responsibilities in the White House.

"I'm confident that the United States will remain a staunch ally no matter who wins," Stoltenberg said, adding that "I worked with former President Trump for the four years he was president."

The Nato head also underlined the division in the support for Nato in Congress.

Stoltenberg has said that Trump’s criticism wasn’t really aimed at the alliance, but at individual countries that have failed to live up to the 2014 pledge to spend 2% of their GDP on defense by 2024. 

Nato Secretary General said: "It’s important to listen because the criticism is not a criticism of NATO but not investing enough in NATO."

"Nato is a good deal for the United States," Stoltenberg has said.