‘COMPLETELY WRONG’: Trump WARNED over potential NATO exit

[0:01] President Trump has been briefed as the search continues for the second crew member of an F-15E fighter jet that went down over Iran. [0:10] And it comes as the president reportedly says the downing of that jet will not affect his negotiations with Iran as the conflict now enters the sixth week. [0:19] The jet went down near Karg Island and the pilot was ejected safely. [0:25] A second U.S. jet was also reportedly targeted and hit near the Strait of Hormuz. [0:30] Let's bring in now former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Voecker. [0:34] Kurt, I'll just get your top line thoughts here on this downed jet, this search that continues. [0:39] Iran is also searching for this service member, potentially could use him as a hostage in these negotiations. [0:48] How does this change the calculus for us? [0:51] Well, I think it is incredibly urgent and important that the United States find and recover this airman. [0:59] Hopefully that does happen. [1:01] But as you said, it's a very important thing. [1:01] And I think it's a very important thing. [1:01] As you say, the Iranians are doing everything they can to track him down as well and will use him for propaganda purposes as a hostage. [1:09] And if the Iranians do capture him, it of course will have an impact on negotiations. [1:15] I think we're at a stage now where we are facing a very difficult decision. [1:21] We have a regime that is hostile, that will conduct attacks against its neighbors, the Gulf states, that will shut down shipping, drive up oil prices, conduct terrorist attacks. [1:31] And if we leave them in place, that's what we will be negotiating with. [1:36] So it's either go all the way and try to remove the regime or start negotiating with them knowing that we're going to have a long-term problem. [1:45] Neither is a good outcome. [1:46] But I think that's the dilemma we're in now. [1:50] And I don't think they will negotiate in good faith at all. [1:52] Well, they haven't. [1:53] Certainly haven't so far. [1:54] I want to talk about the NATO secretary who's coming here to visit with President Trump as the president continues to. [2:01] You know, use rhetoric that says that he might reconsider the U.S.'s place in NATO, our relationship with NATO. [2:11] This is the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, doubling down on that. [2:15] Listen here. [2:16] Unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship. [2:22] Has it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe? [2:27] But when we need the help of our allies, they're going to deny us basing rights and they're going to deny us overflux. [2:32] I think these are very legitimate questions. [2:35] Legitimate questions. [2:36] Well, what do you think of that, though, leaving NATO? [2:40] Yeah, I think this is completely wrong. [2:42] I think that we did not inform allies. [2:45] We did not consult with allies. [2:46] We did not set up a clear goal, a common operation. [2:50] We didn't ask them. [2:51] So this went off the rails from the very beginning. [2:54] And remember, just two months ago, we were talking about taking over Greenland, which, of course, upsets European allies as well. [3:01] We both need to take a breath. [3:03] Realize. [3:03] That NATO has a very important purpose, which is peace in Europe. [3:08] Peace in Europe was fractured or destroyed twice in the last century. [3:12] And we had a Cold War. [3:13] We do not want that to happen again. [3:15] So we need to stop the rhetoric, talk to each other, and come up with a way forward on actually opening up the Persian Gulf and ending the war with Iran and restoring security in Europe. [3:27] That's what we need. [3:28] I think it is a fair point, though, the president continues to make, is that the European allies. [3:33] Benefit much more than we do when it comes to this NATO alliance. [3:38] And I'm thinking about Poland as one key ally in all of this. [3:44] I was in Poland when the war on Ukraine began, when Russia invaded. [3:49] And I remember seeing those Patriot missiles being brought in. [3:53] And, gosh, I probably took 30,000 pictures of them. [3:55] They're beautiful. [3:56] And it's so crucial and critical and important to a place like Poland. [4:01] This is the Polish PM, Donald. [4:04] Tusk warning against the breakup of NATO, saying the threat of NATO's breakup, easing sanctions on Russia, a massive energy crisis in Europe, halting aid for Ukraine and blocking the loan for Kyiv by Orban. [4:16] It all looks like Putin's dream plan. [4:18] So they are extremely concerned. [4:20] But what about the president's point that the European allies benefit far more from NATO than we do? [4:29] And yet in a situation like this, he feels they're not being very helpful. [4:34] Yeah. [4:34] Well. [4:35] Let's look at the history here. [4:37] If we didn't have NATO, we would have to invent it because Russia wants to take over other countries in Europe. [4:43] And massive war in Europe massively affects U.S. interests. [4:47] They're our largest trading partners. [4:49] They're the biggest investors. [4:50] They're the biggest foreign job creators in the United States. [4:53] So this is very much a mutually beneficial alliance for both of us. [4:58] Then you look at the history. [5:00] After 9-11, it was NATO that invoked Article 5 for the first and only time. [5:04] It was the only time to support the United States. [5:07] They joined us in fighting in Afghanistan because we went about it the right way. [5:11] We defined a mission. [5:12] We asked for their support. [5:14] We got that. [5:15] Same thing in Iraq. [5:18] They allowed us to use bases to deliver troops to Iraq. [5:21] We went about that in a very methodical way. [5:23] The Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush. [5:26] They have been there for us quite a lot. [5:28] Much more than they would have wanted to. [5:31] But they did that because of the alliance. [5:33] And this is one. [5:34] Where I think both sides have missed the point. [5:38] They've missed the opportunity. [5:39] We did not consult and work with them in a way that would be effective. [5:43] We insulted them. [5:44] We tried to take territory from Denmark. [5:47] And they denied us the ability to use bases, which is a mistake. [5:51] So what do you think happens when the Secretary comes here? [5:54] Yes. [5:55] Yeah, I think with Ruta behind closed doors with President Trump, [5:58] we have to talk about what's the way forward. [6:01] What is the goal here now with Iran? [6:03] Is it regime change? [6:05] Or is it negotiating with the regime? [6:07] What is that going to look like? [6:09] And what operation can we put together jointly with NATO allies that will be effective? [6:15] Right now, people talk about escorting vessels in the Gulf. [6:18] That won't work. [6:19] Because Iran can still strike any vessel it wants. [6:22] So we've got to put together a viable plan and work together on that and stop the sniping. [6:28] Okay. [6:29] Kurt Voker, always good to talk to you. [6:31] Always learn something new. [6:32] Thank you so much for joining me and happy Easter. [6:36] Thank you. [6:36] You too. [6:36] Happy Easter. [6:37] Hey, everyone. [6:38] I'm Emily Campagno. [6:39] Catch me and my co-hosts Harris Faulkner and Kayleigh McEnany on Outnumbered every weekday at 12 p.m. Eastern. [6:46] Or set your DVR. [6:48] Also, don't forget to subscribe to the Fox News YouTube page for daily highlights.