Article 5 Reliability Questioned as Trump-NATO Rift Deepens

A Haaretz analysis noted that Trump's attacks on NATO allies for refusing to join the Strait of Hormuz coalition have raised fresh doubts about Article 5 mutual defense reliability. Trump previously posted on Truth Social suggesting the US could invoke Article 5 to force NATO to defend the US southern border from illegal immigration — a legally and conceptually unprecedented suggestion. Trump has also stated he has the authority to leave NATO unilaterally, despite the 2024 NDAA requiring a two-thirds Senate majority for withdrawal. Legal scholars described his maneuvers as aimed at 'undermining' NATO without formally leaving it.