On February 10, Trump, who is seeking the US presidential nomination from the Republican Party, speaking to his supporters in South Carolina, recalled one of his meetings with the leaders of NATO member countries. According to him, then one of the presidents asked him whether the United States was ready to defend the alliance in the event of an allegedly possible threat from the Russian Federation, if any country did not make defense contributions to NATO. The ex-president did not specify when and where this conversation took place, or which of the leaders asked him such a question.