Donald Trump says US might not defend NATO allies if he was the President

The US, he said, needs to try to “fix our own mess” before coming to the aid of foreign partners.

“I don’t think we have a right to lecture,” Mr Trump said in an interview with the New York Times. “Look at what is happening in our country.

“How are we going to lecture when people are shooting policemen in cold blood?”

He said that under his leadership, the US would first consider countries’ contribution to the Nato alliance before coming to their aid, and added that other member states should begin bearing more of the defence costs borne by Washington.

Mr Trump’s comments could cause anxiety among Baltic states, many of which see Nato as a key guard against Russian belligerence.

When asked if the US would automatically protect these countries from Russian aggression, he said it would depend on their contributions: “If they fulfill their obligations to us, the answer is yes.”

The world would learn to adjust to his approach, Mr Trump said. “I would prefer to be able to continue” with existing international agreements, he said, but only if America was not asked to continue to pay for what he called an era of American largesse he claimed was no longer affordable.

Speaking about plans to have a less interventionist foreign policy, Mr Trump highlighted economic concerns in the US, and said he would press on with his “America First” rallying cry.