Donald Trump and Theresa May summit to be dominated by security talks as President seeks support to overhaul ‘obsolete’ NATO
New president wants a 'radical re-engineering' of the alliance
DONALD Trump will ask Theresa May to back his radical plans to overhaul NATO during their first summit tomorrow, a senior advisor has revealed.
Ted Malloch - tipped to be the next US ambassador to the EU - has told The Sun that the new president wants a “radical re-engineering” of the alliance.
The new US boss wants it to do much more to tackle the modern threats of terrorism and cyber attacks, so it can “focus on the second half of 21st Century, not the second half of 20th century,” Mr Malloch said.
Mrs May will pull off a diplomatic coup when she becomes the first world leader to hold face to face talks with President Trump on Friday afternoon in Washington DC.
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But it has now emerged that she will face a serious challenge in reconciling the property billionaire’s startling views with the rest of the alliance’s 28 members.
Trump’s military overhaul will renew suggestions he may want to withdraw some of the US’s 30,000 troops and heavy equipment based in Europe.
But that would spark serious alarm among Eastern European alliance members that border with resurgent Russia.
UK-based academic Mr Malloch said: “The president has tasked his defence secretary, General Mattis, to come up with some very strong recommendations on how NATO can be reinvented.
“Can NATO do that or does it have to be abolished? I would suggest it can do that, with strong leadership from Donald Trump and Theresa May.
“He has clearly said it’s obsolete, so that means it must be re-defined. Our critical ally in doing this will be the UK.
“This will be one of the four or five major issues discussed in their summit on Friday.”
Mr Malloch added: “Technological innovation, manufacturing, all these things are changing the way people behave. Our alliance has to keep pace.
“It’s like driving a car that’s 70 years old - you’ve managed to keep it running by patching it together, but everyone else is driving cars bought last year.”
During their Oval Office talks, the president will also push Mrs May to help him force other shirking NATO members fork out more cash on defence, Mr Malloch added.
Currently just five alliance countries – including the US and UK - fork out the minimum target of 2% of their annual national income on their military.
Mr Malloch explained: “The US and UK are not free-riding, but others are”.
Mrs May’s first visit to America as PM will be dominated by the security theme, No10 said last night.
She will also try to influence the president during their talks on Russia, Syria and his plans to fight ISIS – but will also try to start exploring a post Brexit trade deal with the US.
Mrs May will also lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington DC’s Arlington Cemetery, where a series of fallen British troops also lie.
It is also expected Mrs May will pass on the Queen’s invitation for Mr Trump to come to Britain on a state visit in June.