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The president suggested it could have forced NATO to come and protect the U.S. Southern Border.
Article 5, also known as the Musketeers’ Oath, is a key part of the NATO alliance. It states that “an attack on one member is an attack on the entire alliance.”
It has only been invoked once in the history of the alliance, in 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was done without a request from the U.S., but instead on NATO’s own initiative.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos this week, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “The problem with NATO is that we’ll be there for them 100%, but I’m not sure that they would be there for us if we gave them the call.”
But now, Trump appears to be floating the idea of testing NATO’s commitment.
Article 5 on the border
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Donald Trump wrote: “Maybe we should have put NATO to the test: invoked Article 5, and forced NATO to come here and protect our southern border from further invasions of illegal immigrants.”
The Border Patrol agents currently working at the border could then be freed up for other tasks, the president suggested.
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Could he even do it?
According to NATO’s website, Article 5 only applies in the case of an “armed attack.” However, there is uncertainty about what constitutes an armed attack in this context.
According to the website, the triggering of Article 5 is assessed on a case-by-case basis and is not limited to traditional notions of military or armed strikes by a state actor, as demonstrated by its invocation following 9/11.
NATO also states that Allied leaders have clarified at recent NATO summits that attacks “to, from, or within space,” as well as significant cyberattacks and other hybrid attacks, can also be considered “armed attacks.”
However, such attacks must include an international element, meaning cases of domestic terrorism do not trigger Article 5.
Sources: World Economic Forum, NATO website, Truth Social
