Trump will not abandon NATO, Republican-allied senator says in Munich

One of former president Donald Trump's fiercest defenders in Congress assured NATO allies they can count on the support of the United States in the event of an attack - even if Trump wins a second term in November.

"Obviously, we love our NATO allies and I think we value the NATO alliance, and that's true across the political spectrum," Republican Senator JD Vance said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.

But he said the message from Trump and his fellow right-wing Republicans was "that Europe has to be a little bit more self-sufficient" when it comes to their defence.

He told journalists that if Europe truly believed Russian President Vladimir Putin is "an existential threat" then economic powers like Germany "have to step up."

There are more than 30 members of the US Congress attending this year's Munich Security Conference, which ends of Sunday.