Friend or foe at NATO? Who knows when Trump comes to dinner

When Donald Trump walks into a NATO summit Wednesday, international politics are bound to become intensely personal — again.

Since moving into the White House almost 18 months ago, the U.S. president has been as abrasive with some of America’s most trusted allies as he has been warm toward traditional adversaries like North Korea and Russia.

The unpredictable Trump’s affinity for the leaders of NATO’s 28 other members carries the potential to further blur the lines between who is a friend and who is a foe.

The iconic visual from the military alliance’s 2017 summit was Trump shoving aside the prime minister of new member Montenegro, Dusko Markovic, to get in front of the pack for a group photo. The billionaire went on to publicly scold his fellow NATO leaders over defense spending.

Last years’ visit to Brussels also produced the famous mano a mano handshake between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. The two men, who were meeting for the first time, locked hands with grips so intense their knuckles started turning white.

Divisive issues have generated other white-knuckle moments in the year since. Trump still is angry the allies don’t beef up their individual military budgets. The Europeans abhor Trump’s decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on a part of the world that is supposed to be the United States’ partner.

The dynamics between Trump and heads of government with their own predilections could create some volatile chemistry at the two-day summit. far apart.

Going into Wednesday’s summit, Merkel is emerging from a battle within her government over migration. It remains to be seen if scars will be visible on the international stage.

Trump already pounced on Germany in the run-up, sending a tweet that said, “the United States is spending far more on NATO than any other Country.” Then he singled out one: “they must do much more. Germany is at 1%, the U.S. is at 4%.” May and the mayor or London with tweets that came off as putdowns. May last month called Trump’s decision to impose punishing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU “unjustified and deeply disappointing.”