“New York Times” White House correspondent Peter Baker said on “Washington Week” that President Trump’s approach to the Iran conflict is fracturing NATO, leaving the alliance “all but over.”

VIVIAN SALAMA, THE ATLANTIC, ‘WASHINGTON WEEK’ GUEST HOST: Actually, we have the president here saying that one of the things that, you know, has been a concern is obviously the financial markets, and the president sort of framed the way out economically. Here’s what he had to say. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: To those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves, I have a suggestion. Number one, buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much. And, number two, build up some delayed courage, should have done it before, should have done it with us, as we asked, go to the strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves. VIVIAN SALAMA: Peter, the relationship with allies over the course of this conflict has been rocky, to say the least, obviously messaging to them, especially there. What’s the president looking to get out of this? PETER BAKER, ‘THE NEW YORK TIMES’ WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was surprising he didn’t go further actually, in the bellicose that we expected in that speech toward the allies, and particularly toward NATO, he’s been threatening even to get out of NATO, out of all this. In effect, what has happened was, is it’s a — it’s something he — it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, right? He has said NATO is obsolete. They won’t come to our aid. He then goes to war without consulting them, without asking them their opinion, without asking them if they would do something, if they thought it was a good idea or not. And then when they say, no, it’s your war, we don’t particularly want to be part of, he says, see, I told you all, I was right all along. Now, he has backed off of the threat at the moment, but it does feel like that the alliance basically is all but over. It’s in name — everything but name only. Yes, there’s still a NATO. But if you are in NATO, do you believe that the United States is a full-fledged partner with you, or do you think that it’s going off on its own? And Europe is thinking the United States is going off. VIVIAN SALAMA: Well, and Secretary General Mark Rutte of NATO is coming to Washington next week to talk to President Trump. Clearly, they are concerned. PETER BAKER: And he’s been a Trump whisperer. He’s been into the — sometimes the consternation of his European colleagues who think he’s gone too far, maybe he’ll be able to smooth things over in some way. But I think that this is still a fundamental break here that’s not going to be repaired.

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