When referring to what Russia could do to most of our NATO allies without a U.S. response, Trump admonished, “Whatever the hell they want.” In so doing, he provided a potentially pivotal election gift to Democrats.
Pursuant to the treaty’s Article 5, the U.S. is mandated to defend NATO allies when attacked. Since NATO’s inception in 1949, Article 5 has only been invoked once: when the United States was attacked on 9/11.
Trump threatened that if re-elected as President, the United States would not come to the aid of those allies who were not providing two percent of their GDP for defense. Of our 30 NATO allies, 20 are not meeting that guideline. Those countries include Canada, arguably our nation’s most faithful ally. There are 3.1 million Canadian-born American citizens living in the United States.
Also among those who do not meet the 2% criteria are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Slovenia, the birthplace of former First Lady Melania Knavs Trump. Collectively, there are 78.8 million Americans whose origins are from those five countries.
There are 14 NATO countries that were part of the Soviet Union or in the Warsaw Pact, including the Czech Republic. My brother-in-law, who emigrated from the former Czechoslovakia, escaped after the Russians invaded his country in 1968. Like almost all other Americans from then-Soviet sphere-of-influence countries, these immigrants are anti-Russian.
My maternal grandparents were from Ukraine. In the Reagan era, Republicans were anti-Russian and resolute in freeing countries under Soviet domination. With Trump’s embrace of Putin, the table has turned. Democrats are leading the charge for defense spending for Ukraine, with Republican Speaker Mike Johnson blocking $60 billion in Ukrainian aid. There are over 1 million Americans of Ukrainian ancestry.
With Trump even unwilling to denounce Putin for the death of Alexei Navalny, the Democrats have the opportunity to undertake a strategic outreach to Americans who are or descended from the 20 NATO countries not meeting the 2% threshold, Ukrainian Americans, as well as our nation’s 3.1 million Russian Americans. Collectively, these Americans represent over 30% of the U.S. population.
The GOP has handed the Democrats a trump card. The 2024 election is existential for America, and world order may depend on how well Democrats play that providential card.
Malcolm Lazin is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney. He is the recipient of the U.S. Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, the Department of Justice’s highest honor. He served as the Chair, Pennsylvania Crime Commission and was the Republican candidate for District Attorney of Philadelphia. In addition to his legal career, Lazin has been a waterfront developer and a nonprofit activist, earning numerous regional, state, and national awards.
