Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday did not hold back when asked about his one-time boss boasting that he'd encourage Russia to attack NATO countries who did not spend two percent of GDP on defense.
While appearing on CNN, Esper was asked whether he agreed with President Joe Biden's assessment that Trump's recent remarks were "un-American," and he more or less agreed.
"It's certainly irresponsible, dangerous, and no American president that I'm aware of has ever said anything like that before," Esper said.
"But is it un-American?" anchor Poppy Harlow asked him.
"Probably, yes," Esper said.
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Later in the interview, Esper said that he agreed broadly with Trump's point that all members of NATO should live up to the goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense, but he emphasized that failure to do so was no reason to exit the alliance all together and encourage Russian aggression.
Esper also warned that Trump's statements were just a preview of things he'd do in a potential second term.
"I think one of the first thing they'll do is move to cut off all funding for Ukraine," he said. "The next thing he'll probably do is to begin withdrawing troops from key countries unless they meet a spending commitment, but ultimately will try to withdraw from NATO."
Watch the video below or at this link.