 Biden calls Trump Putin's useful lackey after threatening NATO countries. United States President Joe Biden has called Donald Trump a useful lackey of Russian President Vladimir Putin. You want to know why Ukraine is important? Because as you can see, Putin and his useful lackeys have their eyes on bigger prizes, he writes. Earlier, Donald Trump threatened NATO countries to incite Russia to attack them if they did not contribute to the alliance. During a political rally on February 10th in South Carolina, Trump complained about what he termed as delinquent payments from some NATO countries and recounted a past conversation with the leader of a major country regarding Russia's potential attack on such countries. No, I wouldn't defend you. In fact, I'd encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay, Trump said, to an unnamed leader. This statement has already caused outrage in the White House and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. After that, the Polish authorities also reacted to Donald Trump's statement that as president, he was not going to defend NATO allies from a possible attack for free. At the same time, EU Council President Charles Michel said that Trump's threats emphasize the need for the EU to urgently develop its strategic autonomy. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, has said that NATO cannot afford to be at the mercy of the US President's whims, according to Sky News. Responding to Trump's comments, Borrell remarked that NATO cannot be a military alliance on a pick-and-choose basis depending on the mood of the US President.