Ex-Trump adviser thinks he 'made up' the NATO country story — but not withdrawal threats

A second Donald Trump term would mean a NATO obituary and possibly even a war.

Former President Donald Trump's one-time National Security Advisor John Bolton made the prognostication on CNN's "The Source" with Kaitlan Collins.

"I think he will withdraw," said Bolton. "I think you have to take what he's saying is coming directly from what he has long been saying privately and, in some cases, publicly."

Speaking at a Saturday rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump told a story about an anonymous NATO member asking if he would withhold U.S. support if their country didn't pay their 2% to NATO. It isn't the way NATO funding works, however. Countries are encouraged to contribute to their own militaries as part of a collective effort based on a formula that factors in their own GDP.

Trump said he would cheer on Russia to attack a NATO ally.

“You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?" Trump claimed he said. "No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills."

The comment for the 77-year-old GOP frontrunner drew bipartisan scorn.

"Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.

President Joe Biden called the comments "appalling and dangerous."

Founded in 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed as a strategic military alliance of country members North America and Europe wake of World War II.

As for the yarn that Trump spun, Bolton doesn't buy it.

"I think he made that conversation up," he said. "I think that's a fairly typical Trump thing to do because it makes it sound very dramatic. And, he's proving his point."

Fabricated or not, the concern for Bolton is that Trump is not inventing his plans to destroy NATO should he return to power.

"People should not think that he's making up the point about withdrawing or that he doesn't particularly care of what Russia does to those who don't spend adequately on their own defense," said Bolton. "I think this is exactly his view of alliances; they're totally transactional.

For Bolton, Trump's central doctrine with world affairs: No alliance is secure.

"If he's willing to knife NATO, then he's willing to knife the relationship with Israel, with Japan, with South Korea," he said. "There's not a us alliance out there that safe with that kind of attitude."

See the interview below or at the link here.