'Donald Trump is not anti-Ukraine or anti-NATO - he's just anti-World War 3'

Donald Trump 'doesn't like NATO alliance' says Bolton

Donald Trump’s pledge to end the war in Ukraine stems from a fundamental determination to avert the risk of a catastrophic war between Russia and the West, a US-based former MP has said.

Douglas Carswell also believes the US President-elect “has a point” when he says Europeans need to dig deeper when it comes to defence given the massive levels of spending by the US.

NATO is funded through a system of direct contributions to its collective budget and individual member nations' defence spending. The United States provides the overwhelming majority of NATO's financial support, accounting for roughly 70% of total defence expenditures among member states.

This reflects its global military capacity and commitment to the alliance. The UK is one of the few NATO members meeting the agreed target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence, consistently contributing to the alliance's operational capabilities and reinforcing its shared security objectives.

Mr Trump has frequently criticised NATO's funding structure, asserting that European allies are not contributing their fair share to the alliance.

US President Donald Trump (Image: Getty)

He has highlighted the disproportionate burden borne by the United States, which accounts for the majority of NATO defence spending, while several European countries fall short of the 2% GDP defence target.

Mr Trump has even hinted at reducing US support or even withdrawing from NATO altogether, raising concerns about the alliance’s future stability and collective defence commitments. He is currently making appointments to his incoming administration and has vowed to bring a rapid end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, without specifying how.

Nevertheless, Douglas Carswell - the former Tory and UKIP MP for Clacton, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage's seat - and current President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, backed his general strategy.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (Image: Getty)

Pointing to the fact that the Labour Government has refused to commit to increased defence spending, he said: “There are six million Brits living on benefit, and yet the British government says they can't afford to spend more on defence.

"Why should people in Mississippi have higher taxes, and why should their government borrow a trillion dollars every 100 days to fund the defence of people in Europe and people in Britain, when there are 6 million Brits too idle to go out and earn a day's wage?

"That's the issue, and I'm sorry, but I think Trump has a point. The Europeans have been freeloading at the expense of the American taxpayer, and Americans have had enough of it, and it's the immense stupidity of European leaders to not understand this.

"It's not an anti-NATO, it's an anti-something for nothing.”

A Russian nuclear missile paraded in Red Square (Image: Getty)

He continued: “If and when it comes to Ukraine, I'm not sure that it's fair to say Trump is anti-Ukraine. I think Trump is anti-World War 3.

"If you listen to what JD Vance said in a long form podcast with Joe Rogan, he, he wasn't saying, he was anti-Ukraine either.

"He was saying, 'be very careful about how you treat Russia, however monstrous the Russian government is, be very careful about a country that's got 3000 nuclear warheads.

Asked for how Mr Trump might end up trying to end the conflict, Mr Carswell speculated that compromise was likely inevitable.

He said: “Is there not a possibility that you can end the war in Ukraine by the bits of Ukraine that vote majority to be Russian join Russia, and the bits of Ukraine that a majority not to join Russia state. Is that not how the war in Yugoslavia was ended? They worked out who wanted to be where. “

Vice-President-elect JD Vance (Image: Getty)

Speaking about the US state where he lives, he continued: “There are quite a few Ukrainian flags around, not as many as I remember, when I was last in the UK, I was driving through rural Suffolk, and I saw Ukrainian flags everywhere. Nothing like that. But I think there's support for Ukraine."

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed scepticism about Mr Trump's pledge to end the conflict rapidly.

Speaking recently, he emphasised that a quick, unenforceable ceasefire could leave Ukraine vulnerable, as seen with the annexation of Crimea following the 2014 ceasefire agreement.

He explained: "A fair ending is needed, not a fast one. If it is very fast, it’s going to be a loss for Ukraine.

He also rejected Trump's suggestion that Ukraine is in a "deadlock," instead describing the situation as a problem requiring both political will and timely support from allies, and warned of North Korea’s growing involvement, if international political pressure on Russia was to wane.