Trump: Promises Kept / Promises Broken: on Foreign Policy

Donald Trump: I said it was obsolete, but NATO is no longer obsolete

That was then. After 82 days in office, Trump officially pronounced NATO rehabilitated, taking credit for transforming it into a modern, cost-sharing, terrorism-fighting pillar of American and European security. "I said it was obsolete," the president noted as he hosted NATO's secretary general. "It's no longer obsolete."

Never mind that the alliance has changed very little if at all in the last three months, and that whatever modest changes have been made were in train long before Trump entered the White House. After weeks of being lobbied, cajoled and educated by the leaders of Britain and Germany, not to mention "my generals," as he likes to call his national security team, Trump has found fresh virtue in a venerable organization.

Donald Trump: NATO: apply new solutions to face new circumstances

The Russia reversal and the NATO turnabout were inherently linked, of course. As Russia appears more ominous, NATO seems more necessary. But the shift in attitude also offered one of the starkest examples yet of Trump's evolving views: "We must not be trapped by the tired thinking that so many have, but apply new solutions to face new circumstances throughout the world," Trump said at his news conference with the NATO secretary general.

Trump's campaign criticism of NATO stunned many at home and abroad, especially when he suggested conditioning America's commitment to defend its treaty allies on whether they had met their financial obligations.

Donald Trump: Other countries should follow UK in leaving EU

Trump said that Britain's decision to leave the European Union would "end up being a great thing" and predicted that other countries would follow. "People, countries want their own identity, and the U.K. wanted its own identity," he said.

Diplomats said they had heard him sound off during the campaign. But with the inauguration less than a week away, there is a growing realization in European capitals that Trump's acerbic criticism of NATO and the European Union was not just an attempt to win votes.

Donald Trump: NATO is obsolete; it doesn't fight terrorism

"I took such heat when I said NATO was obsolete," Mr. Trump said. "It's obsolete because it wasn't taking care of terror. I took a lot of heat for two days. And then they started saying, 'Trump is right.'"

During his hourlong interview with the European publications at Trump Tower in Manhattan, Trump sought to temper some of his criticism of NATO by noting that the alliance "is very important to me." Still, his characterization of it as divorced from the fight against terrorism was challenged by NATO experts, who noted that the alliance had joined the US in Afghanistan.

James Mattis: NATO alliance is essential for America's security

Trump's comments on NATO were striking because his nominee for secretary of defense, James N. Mattis, a retired Marine general, described the alliance as essential for Americans' security in testimony to Congress just three days ago.

Asked about Trump's previous criticism of NATO, General Mattis said he had spoken with him about the value of the alliance. "I have had discussions with him on this issue," General Mattis said. "He has shown himself open, even to the point of asking more questions, going deeper into the issue."

Donald Trump: Supports construction of Israeli settlements in West Bank

Trump amplified his position by posting the statement on Facebook and Twitter as well: "The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed." His words closely echoed the positions expressed by Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has treated the impending UN vote as a crisis, posting on his own Twitter account a message urging Obama to veto what he called the "anti-Israel" resolution. Egypt, who drafted the resolution, withdrew it afterwards.