President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE privately indicated multiple times in 2018 that he wanted the U.S. to withdraw from the NATO alliance, The New York Times reported late Monday.

Senior administration officials told the newspaper that Trump suggested he did not understand the benefits of NATO and that he believed it was sapping the U.S.

The president reportedly made the comments around last July's summit, where he roiled allies by criticizing Germany directly and questioning why other members did not spend more on defense. Trump said later that a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin went better than the NATO summit.

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Then-Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it Gary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November MORE and national security adviser John Bolton worked to maintain the current U.S. strategy regarding NATO, the Times reported, but did not mention that withdrawing from NATO would benefit Russia and weaken American influence in Europe.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders blasted the story as "meaningless."

"This story was meaningless when it was written 6 months ago and even more so now," she said in a statement. "The President has made clear our Allies must fulfill their commitments and share the burden for a strong defense. As the President has said, 'The United States’ commitment to NATO is very strong' and 'I believe in NATO. I think NATO is very important.'”

The president has been openly critical of NATO, arguing that the U.S. contributes a disproportionate amount to fund the group and protects other countries that pay less. Members do not pay into NATO, but rather contribute toward defense spending in their respective budgets.

NATO member nations agreed in 2014 to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic products on defense by 2024. But only four of the alliance’s 29 countries have already met that target. NATO has said 15 are on pace to reach the goal.

Multiple reports following July's NATO summit indicated that Trump threatened to withdraw from the alliance if other countries did not commit to a spending hike. The president did not deny those reports at the time, saying he was “very firm” with allies.

Updated at 12:45 p.m.