Elon Musk, who holds no official cabinet position in the administration, wrote on social media that he agrees the United States should leave NATO and the United Nations.
On Saturday, Musk quote-tweeted “I agree” to a post from someone who wrote, “It’s time to leave NATO and the UN.”
NATO and the U.N. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Martin Paasi, a member of the Finnish parliament, responded to Musk’s post, writing, “I don’t think anyone will trust the US government for the next few decades.”
Musk’s critique of NATO and the U.N. comes after Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he visited the White House on Friday. Zelenskyy and Trump were trying to reach a deal that involved Zelenskyy handing over Ukraine’s rare earth mineral deposits in exchange for U.S. military aid that was already provided under former President Joe Biden.
Musk, the richest person in the world, and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, a non-cabinet department, which aims to cut government spending, has become increasingly involved in Trump’s administration, trying to dismantle several federal agencies, including USAID, which he called a “criminal organization.”
Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, wrote on X on Thursday he and Trump had a talk, and the U.S. and NATO “are getting stronger” and NATO allies “are preparing billions more in aid and contributions to security guarantees” for Ukraine.
Trump has been critical of NATO in the past. In January 2024, he said he doesn’t believe NATO would be helpful if the United States was attacked.
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“And you know, I hate to tell you this about NATO if we ever needed their help, let’s say we were attacked, I don’t believe they’d be there,” Trump said in January at a Las Vegas rally. “I don’t believe. I know the people. I know them. I can tell you country by country who would be there and who – but I don’t believe they’d be there.”
Trump also called NATO “obsolete,” and in a 2023 campaign video said the U.S. should reevaluate “NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission.”