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77 Years Ago Today, NATO Was Created to Defend the West—But Is It?

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Image of a political conference featuring Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and former U.S. President Donald Trump discussing NATO at a podium.

Image of a political conference featuring Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and former U.S. President Donald Trump discussing NATO at a podium.

WATCH: 77 Years Ago Today, NATO Was Created to Defend the West—But Is It?

77 years ago, on April 4, 1949, the NATO treaty was signed. The alliance, known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was created to deter Soviet expansion and ensure collective security among Western nations.

For decades, it succeeded in that mission. However, today’s geopolitical landscape raises a more complicated question: not whether the United States should leave NATO, but whether the alliance, in its current form, still serves American interests fairly.

Recent tensions surrounding Iran have exposed a persistent imbalance. While the United States continues to provide the backbone of NATO’s military power, many European allies remain reluctant to fully support American-led operations that fall outside a narrow interpretation of Article 5.

That hesitation is not entirely surprising. NATO’s collective defense clause applies when a member is attacked, not necessarily when the United States engages in offensive or preemptive actions.

Still, the broader issue is reciprocity. The United States maintains extensive military infrastructure across Europe, provides advanced defense capabilities, and has historically underwritten the alliance’s security umbrella. In return, Washington expects more consistent strategic alignment.

As previously reported by The Gateway Pundit, President Donald Trump is reportedly considering withdrawing from NATO, reflecting growing frustration within parts of the American political establishment.

However, leaving the alliance is neither simple nor likely. Legislation passed in 2024 requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate to approve any withdrawal, making unilateral action effectively impossible. 

This legal reality underscores an important point: the debate is not truly about exit, but about leverage and reform.

It is also important to acknowledge that NATO has not always been a one-sided arrangement. The alliance invoked Article 5 for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks, leading European allies to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan. 

Thousands of allied troops were deployed, and many lost their lives alongside American forces. That history matters. It demonstrates that NATO can function as intended when the threat is clearly defined within its framework.

At the same time, structural imbalances have persisted. For years, many NATO members failed to meet the agreed-upon benchmark of spending 2% of GDP on defense. While recent pressure—particularly during the Trump administration—has pushed more countries toward that target, disparities remain. 

The United States continues to account for a disproportionate share of total NATO defense spending, raising legitimate concerns about burden-sharing.

Reform, therefore, should focus on three key areas. First, enforceable defense spending commitments must become the norm rather than the exception. While this has largely been the case under Trump, it remains unclear how NATO allies will respond under future administrations. 

NATO should also clarify expectations for allied support in operations that, while not strictly defensive, still serve broader Western interests. 

Finally, the alliance must adapt to modern threats, including cyber warfare, economic coercion, and strategic competition with powers such as China, rather than remaining overly focused on its Cold War structure.

Leaving NATO would create a vacuum that adversaries such as Russia and China would quickly exploit. The alliance provides the United States with forward operating bases, intelligence coordination, and strategic depth that cannot be easily replicated.

Of course, European nations would likely bear the greatest immediate consequences if the United States were to leave NATO. However, that does not mean withdrawal would be the right decision. 

Trump is known for following through on his positions, but that does not preclude negotiation. The same principle applies to NATO: the goal should not be abandonment, but a recalibration of the alliance to better reflect mutual responsibility and shared interests.

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The post 77 Years Ago Today, NATO Was Created to Defend the West—But Is It? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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WATCH: Jon Stewart Responds to His Striking Resemblance to the Bedridden Patient in Trump’s Deleted AI ‘Jesus’ Meme: ‘I Didn’t Realize My Look Had Reached… Leper Territory’

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April 15, 2026

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A man in a hospital bed receives a healing touch, while a commentator observes the scene, highlighting themes of faith and recovery.

A man in a hospital bed receives a healing touch, while a commentator observes the scene, highlighting themes of faith and recovery.

The Daily Show host Jon Stewart had a goofy on-air meltdown Monday night after realizing he has a striking resemblance to the sickly man being “healed” in a controversial AI-generated meme posted by President Donald Trump.

The now-deleted image, which Trump shared on Truth Social late Sunday night, depicted the president dressed as Jesus Christ, wearing flowing white robes with a red sash, extending a glowing hand over an elderly man lying weak and bedridden in a hospital bed.

The background included American flags, bald eagles, fighter jets, and a winged creature with horns in the sky.

Trump deleted the post after it drew sharp backlash from some conservatives who labeled it blasphemous.

When asked about the meme Monday at the White House, Trump downplayed it, claiming he thought the image showed him “as a doctor” in a Red Cross context rather than as Jesus.

During Monday evening’s episode of The Daily Show, Stewart paused when the meme appeared on screen.

Zooming in on the bedridden patient, he said, “Oh my God… What the guy in the bed, can I just…”

“Am I okay?”

Stewart continued, “What the f-ck?! I mean, look, I know I don’t have the vigor and spunk of my MTV days. But I didn’t know we were here already. I didn’t realize my look had reached… leper territory.”

“I mean, from the picture, it looks like it was touch and go for a while. Thank God, in my time of need, I was surrounded by family… This is freaking me the f-ck out. I’m just glad that Jesus-Trump brought his healing orb.”

The official The Daily Show account posted the full segment clip on X, captioned, “Trump posted an AI image of himself as Jesus healing a bedridden–wait, is that Jon Stewart?!”

WATCH:

The meme was posted amid Trump’s ongoing public criticism of Pope Leo XIv, whom Trump accused of being “soft on crime” and too weak on foreign policy issues.

The post WATCH: Jon Stewart Responds to His Striking Resemblance to the Bedridden Patient in Trump’s Deleted AI ‘Jesus’ Meme: ‘I Didn’t Realize My Look Had Reached… Leper Territory’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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WATCH: Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego Throws “Best Friend” Swalwell Under the Bus, Denies He Is in Viral Video of Swalwell and Sex Worker

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April 15, 2026

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Man in a suit speaking at a press conference with microphones and greenery in the background, highlighting a professional and formal setting.

Senator Ruben Gallego turned on his good friend Eric Swalwell after initially defending him on social media.

On Monday, Gallego began to distance himself from Swalwell shortly before the California Democrat announced his resignation from Congress amid allegations of sexual assault.

“I want to be clear: I had no knowledge of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory behavior against Eric Swalwell,” Gallego said ahead of Swalwell’s resignation.

“I trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but it is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew,” he added.

On Tuesday, after a fifth Swalwell accuser came forward at a press conference in Beverly Hills and accused the California Democrat of violently raping her at a West Hollywood hotel in 2018, Gallego threw Swalwell under the buss

“Eric Swalwell lied to all of us. He lies to the most powerful people in this country. And they trusted him,” Gallego told reporters.

“They trusted him with the most sensitive spots in our government. Whether it was a Judiciary Committee, Intel Committee, or impeaching Donald Trump,” he said.

“And that clouded my judgment, my friendship with him, our family’s friendship together with him clouded my judgment, and I was wrong,” Gallego said.

Gallego claimed that Swalwell was living a ‘double life’ but conceded he heard rumors that Swalwell was ‘flirty’ with women.

WATCH:

A reporter asked Gallego if he was in the hotel room and sitting next to Swalwell on the bed in the leaked video.

Martin Shkreli and Jack Posobiec released videos of Swalwell sitting on a bed with a sex worker. A man who resembles Gallego is briefly seen sitting on the bed.

A man and a woman share an intimate moment on a bed, with a smartphone visible in the scene.

“Was that you sitting next to him?” a reporter asked Gallego.

Gallego said that was not him in the video.

“No, I was not sitting next to him, I was not in the room,” the Democrat Senator said.

“I didn’t know where it happened. Right-wing political operatives are pushing this narrative that somehow I was in that room with uh Eric Swalwell and that is an absolute lie,” he said

WATCH:

The post WATCH: Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego Throws “Best Friend” Swalwell Under the Bus, Denies He Is in Viral Video of Swalwell and Sex Worker appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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REPORT: Joe Biden ‘Had to Choose’ Harris Because of the BLM Riots, But He Actually Wanted THIS Governor

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April 15, 2026

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Joe Biden personally wanted Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as his 2020 running mate, but ultimately went with Kamala Harris because of the Black Lives Matter riots, according to a new profile published in The Atlantic.

The revelation comes from an in-depth piece on Whitmer as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, which details the behind-the-scenes dynamics of Biden’s vice-presidential vetting process.

Whitmer had risen to national prominence in 2020 for her aggressive and authoritarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic and her public clashes with President Donald Trump.

By summer 2020, Whitmer was actively being vetted for the VP spot.

Whitmer was the first finalist to meet with Biden in person in Delaware in August 2020.

Insiders said she got along well with Biden and was prepared to accept the position if offered.

A former senior staffer for Whitmer told The Atlantic, “The moment called for a black running mate,” explaining the intense pressure on Biden following the nationwide riots after the death of George Floyd.

The Atlantic reports:

All of this attention seemed like it might add up to something, and by summer 2020, Whitmer was being vetted for vice president. She wasn’t sure about it at first, people familiar with her thinking at the time told me; she struggled to imagine herself as a creature of Washington, D.C. She got along well with Biden, though, and by the time he asked her to fly to Delaware for an in-person chat, she was ready to say yes. Biden didn’t ask. The moment called for a Black running mate, the former senior staffer for Whitmer told me, so he had to choose Kamala Harris. “But I think he wanted it to be Whitmer,” this person said. Asked to confirm, a former adviser to both Biden and Harris said that the assessment carried “some weight.”

A former adviser to both Biden and Harris added that the claim Biden “wanted it to be Whitmer” carries “some weight.”

Whitmer herself confirmed in a December 2020 interview with Detroit’s FOX 2 that she would have accepted the role if Biden had asked.

“If Joe Biden had called and said, ‘I need you to be my partner and be my running mate,’ I would have said yes. This election was that important,” she stated.

Whitmer later claimed she felt a “sigh of relief” that the call never came, as she preferred to remain governor of Michigan.

Biden had publicly pledged to select a woman as his running mate. Whitmer was seen as a strong ideological and geographic fit. However, multiple outlets at the time reported that black Democratic leaders and activists urged Biden to choose a black woman, with some warning that picking Whitmer could cost him support in key states like Michigan.

Whitmer went on to campaign vigorously for the Biden-Harris ticket and continued supporting Biden through his 2024 reelection bid until he withdrew.

The post REPORT: Joe Biden ‘Had to Choose’ Harris Because of the BLM Riots, But He Actually Wanted THIS Governor appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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