The US ambassador to Nato has said Ireland enjoys all the benefits of membership of the alliance while incurring none of the downsides.Matthew Whitaker, who briefly served as attorney general in Donald Trump’s first term, made the remarks at an event hosted by the US embassy in Dublin discussing US perspectives on transatlantic security.Whitaker spent much of the event defending the Trump administration’s decision to remove US military assets from Europe and to compel countries to take the lead in Nato’s defence of the territory.“It is European nations taking over the conventional defence of Europe and the United States provided critical but limited capabilities,” he said.The decision to remove US military assets from Europe has caused widespread concern in EU capitals and fears it will embolden Russia to take more aggressive action on the bloc’s eastern flank.Whitaker said he spent much of his time visiting European capitals “calming everybody down”. He said while Europe would take the lead in defending itself, the US would “continue to show up, continue to roll up our sleeves, and continue to work on what we’re all trying to accomplish”.He also warned against the EU developing its own offensive military capabilities outside Nato. Such a move could “see the whole thing spin out of control”, he said.During the discussion with Irish defence analyst Declan Power, Whitaker did not address whether the US wanted Ireland become a member of Nato.However, he said Ireland, along with Austria and Switzerland, enjoys “all the benefits of Nato membership” without any of the drawbacks. As an external Nato ally through the Partnership for Peace programme, Ireland benefits from Nato programmes, including training, but “they don’t have to contribute to the force model”.Whitaker said, in defence terms, Europe was Washington’s fourth priority, behind the US itself, the western hemisphere and the Pacific.“For too long they have underspent on their own security, and the American taxpayers, and the hard-working plumbers and farmers of my home state of Iowa, have paid for that bill. All we’re asking is to equalise and share that need for investment in capabilities,” he said.This meant “tough political decisions”, he said, including EU countries spending less on “very generous social programmes”, he said.The ambassador said it was “politically popular” in Europe to criticise Trump and the US, but said such criticism undermined the “political military alliance in Nato”. European leaders “have to work within the political realities we all face”, he said.Whitaker said there was a divergence between Europe and the US on the common threats face by countries. He cited “radical Islamic terrorism” as a threat many European countries had “kind of let get out of control”.Asked about the threats posed by disinformation and incitement to violence posed by US-based social media companies, Whitaker said the United States and Europe also diverged on the issue of free speech. “These are conversations where the traditions are just different on both sides,” he said.Whitaker said in his view Europe wanted to control everything and protect people’s “delicate little ears”.“I’m not going to convince you or your elected officials that the US version of free speech is the gold standard, but I can say it’s worked for us for 250 years,” he said.