During his time in office, Donald Trump’s approach to NATO brought significant changes and challenges. He first called NATO “obsolete” during his 2016 campaign, claiming it cost the U.S. a fortune. Early in his presidency, he criticized NATO allies for not spending enough on defense. At a 2017 summit in Brussels, he expressed frustration that many countries weren’t meeting the 2% GDP defense spending goal. This rhetoric created uncertainty among allies who relied on America’s security commitments.
Over time, Trump softened his tone. He explicitly backed Article 5, the mutual defense agreement that has been a cornerstone of NATO for decades. However, as his second term began in January 2025, he returned with a new focus. He considered repositioning U.S. troops to countries that met defense spending targets. He also sought to shift U.S. forces toward NATO’s eastern flank, signaling a realignment in U.S. military strategy.
Trump’s evolving NATO strategy included backing Article 5 and realigning U.S. troops based on defense spending commitments.
Trump raised eyebrows when he made the U.S. defense conditional on NATO countries meeting spending goals. He stated, “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.” This statement broke with a 70-year tradition of U.S. policy and forced NATO members to question their security guarantees. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the U.S. could not be Europe’s indefinite guarantor.
Trump pushed NATO members to increase their military spending to 5% of GDP, which went beyond the existing 2% guideline. By 2025, 23 NATO countries had met this target, a significant increase from just three in 2014. This shift in focus on defense spending was seen as a monumental victory for shared responsibility, but the pressure left many European capitals uneasy, particularly as it marked a commitment to increase defense spending that aimed to deter aggression from global adversaries.
