Former U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that he would not defend NATO allies who fail to spend enough on defense and would even go as far as to encourage Russia to attack them. 

Trump, who is running for reelection, made the controversial remarks on NATO during a campaign speech on Saturday in South Carolina, recalling a conversation he'd had when he was in office. 

Trump said that when the leader of an unnamed NATO ally asked if the U.S. would protect it in the event of an attack from Russia even if it did not pay, he replied that he would not protect the “delinquent” country and would encourage Russia to do whatever it wants. 

The White House as well as NATO and a number of European countries strongly criticized Trump’s remarks, which apparently denied NATO’s collective security agreement and could encourage Russia to use force. 

President Joe Biden slammed the comments as "appalling and dangerous," and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the remarks “irresponsible and dangerous.”

Trump’s remarks raise concerns that if reelected, he may force South Korea to shoulder an enormous amount of the cost of maintaining U.S. Forces in Korea.