Trump and his running mate contradict themselves on NATO issue

Trump said under him US might not come to the defence of some NATO members if Russia were to attack them

The Republican campaign sparked a controversy when party's presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence expressed contradicting views on America's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies.

In his vice-presidential acceptance speech, Pence said that Trump would rebuild the military and stand with the allies of the United States.

But in an interview to The New York Times, Trump said that the US under his presidency might not come to the defence of some NATO members if Russia were to attack them.

The Republican presidential nominee said that his decision would be based on the whether those countries have fulfilled their obligations to NATO.

The rival Clinton campaign slammed Trump and Pence for their differences on this crucial issue.

"Tonight, Mike Pence said Donald Trump would stand with our allies. Tonight, Donald Trump flatly contradicted him," said the Hillary for America Senior Policy Adviser Jake Sullivan.

"Ronald Reagan would be ashamed. Harry Truman would be ashamed. Republicans, Democrats and Independents who help build NATO into the most successful military alliance in history would all come to the same conclusion: Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit and fundamentally ill-prepared to be our Commander in Chief," he said.

"The President is supposed to be the leader of the free world. Donald Trump apparently doesn't even believe in the free world," Sullivan said alleging that over the course of this campaign, Trump has displayed a bizarre and occasionally obsequious fascination with Russia's strongman, Vladimir Putin.