Trump says Nato to boost spending, claim contested
US President Donald Trump closed out his chaotic two-day visit to Nato on Thursday by declaring victory, claiming that member nations caved to his demands to significantly increase defence spending and reaffirming his commitment to the alliance.
But there were no immediate specifics on what Trump said he had achieved, and French President Emmanuel Macron quickly disputed Trump’s claim that Nato allies have agreed to boost defence spending beyond 2% of gross domestic product.
“The United States’ commitment to Nato remains very strong,” Trump told reporters at a surprise news conference following an emergency session of Nato members held to address his threats.
Trump had spent his time in Brussels berating members of the military alliance for failing to spend enough of their money on defence, accusing Europe of freeloading off the US and raising doubts about whether he would come to members’ defence if they were attacked.
Trump said he made his anger clear to allies on Wednesday.
“Yesterday I let them know that I was extremely unhappy
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with what was happening,” Trump said, adding that, in response, European countries agreed to up their spending.
“They have substantially upped their commitment and now we’re very happy and have a very, very powerful, very, very strong Nato,” he said.
Trump did not specify which countries had committed to what, and it remained unclear whether any had changed their plans. He seemed to suggest a speeded-up timeline, saying nations would be “spending at a much faster clip,” which if it panned out would mark a significant milestone for the alliance.
Nato countries in 2014 committed to move toward spending 2% of their gross domestic products on defence within 10 years. Nato has estimated that only 15 members, or just over half, will meet the benchmark by 2024 based on current trends.
Macron, in his own press conference, seemed to reject Trump’s claim that NATO powers had agreed to increases beyond previous targets.
He said the allies had confirmed their intention to meet the goal of 2% percent by 2024 and no more.
The emergency session came amid reports that Trump had threatened to leave the pact if allies didn’t immediately up their spending, but officials said no explicit threat was made.