Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump expressed uncertainty on Thursday about whether the United States should continue spending anything on NATO, claiming that while the U.S. protects NATO members, they are not offering reciprocal protection. His comments came as he reiterated his demand that other NATO countries significantly increase their defense spending.
Trump once again called on NATO members to raise their defense contributions from the current 2% of GDP to 5%, a proposal that far exceeds the current spending goal and one that no NATO member, including the U.S., currently meets.
“I’m not sure we should be spending anything, but we should certainly be helping them,” Trump remarked to reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office. “We’re protecting them. They’re not protecting us.”
Trump further emphasized his point, saying, “They should up their 2% to 5%,” echoing remarks he had made earlier at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The United States finances 15.8% of NATO’s annual budget, which amounts to approximately $3.5 billion for the 32-member alliance. This share is the joint-largest, alongside Germany’s, according to NATO’s breakdown for 2024. However, indirect U.S. contributions—such as military forces—are not included in this figure.
The overall U.S. defense budget is far greater than those of other NATO members, totaling $816.7 billion in 2023, which accounts for more than half of the alliance’s total expenditure.
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Trump’s newly appointed Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, reiterating U.S. commitment to the alliance. The two also discussed the importance of “capable defense allies and real burden sharing”, according to the State Department.
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Despite Trump’s calls for a dramatic increase in defense spending, analysts and officials from NATO countries suggest that the alliance is unlikely to adopt such a steep rise in contributions. A 5% target would be politically and economically unfeasible for most NATO members. However, a new target is expected to be discussed at the NATO summit in The Hague in June, with some expecting an agreement on a goal of around 3% of GDP. Even that would pose a challenge for many countries, as eight NATO members still fail to meet the current 2% target set a decade ago.
