Trump says he would ‘encourage’ Russia to attack Nato allies who do not pay their bills

A White House spokesman said the former president was “encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes”, and labelled the comments “appalling and unhinged”.

He added that the statement “endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home”.

Mr Trump, the favourite to run again as the Republican candidate in this year’s US presidential election, has long been critical of Nato and what he sees as an excessive financial burden on the United States to guarantee the defence of 30 other nations.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after Mr Trump left office. He has since bemoaned the amount of US money sent to Ukraine, which is not a Nato member.

However, Republicans in Congress have since the turn of the year blocked all new funding – demanding tough measures to restrict migration into the US on its southern border, and then refusing the amended bill when it was presented earlier this week.

Mr Trump celebrated that rejection during Saturday’s rally, saying the proposals made by President Biden had been “disastrous”.

The two issues have now been successfully separated, meaning that senators are now able to debate the aid money separately.