The White House on Saturday rejected feedback made by former US President Donald Trump about not defending NATO allies from a possible Russian invasion as “appalling and unhinged”.

Trump, showing to recount a gathering with NATO leaders throughout a political rally in South Carolina on Saturday, quoted the president of “a big country” that he didn’t identify as asking, “Well sir if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia – will you protect us?”

“I said: ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’ He said: ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ No I would not protect you. In fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, requested about Trump’s feedback, mentioned, “Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged – and it endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home.”

The NATO treaty incorporates a provision that ensures mutual protection of member states if one is attacked.

Trump, frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, was a fierce critic of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization when he was president, repeatedly threatening to drag out of the alliance. He reduce protection funding to NATO and ceaselessly complained that the United States was paying greater than its fair proportion.

Bates mentioned President Joe Biden, a Democrat searching for reelection within the November election, had restored U.S. alliances after taking workplace in 2021, guaranteeing that NATO was now “the largest and most vital it has ever been.”

“Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership and stand up for our national security interests – not against them,” he said in a statement issued late Saturday.

With Trump leading Biden in some polls, European allies worry a Trump victory in November could jeopardize the U.S. commitment to the alliance, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last month said he did not think a second Trump presidency would jeopardize U.S. membership.

Stoltenberg, who has been pushing member states to boost defense spending, said European allies were increasing their military contributions and “shifting in the best path.”

Trump has continued to hammer the transatlantic alliance, telling a campaign rally last month that he did not believe NATO countries would support the United States if it were attacked.

On Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump has called for de-escalation and complained about the billions spent so far, although he has put forward few tangible policy proposals.

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, U.S. aid to Ukraine has totaled around $75 billion, Stoltenberg said, while other NATO members and partner states combined have provided more than $100 billion.