According to reports on Friday, President Donald Trump may decide to skip the June NATO summit in the Netherlands if other members of NATO do not share more of the cost of the alliance.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Reuters, citing Der Spiegel, reported European diplomatic sources saying Trump is pressing countries, especially Germany, to increase defense spending.
Trump has called on European allies to increase their expenditures. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, discussed the issue further, according to the DOD’s readout of the conversation.
The administration reported that the two secretaries had discussed their shared priorities. This included “the administration’s intention for European allies [to] assume primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defenses,” adding that Hegseth has “commended Germany for recent actions taken to lift its debt burden while urging ministers to increase defense spending and accelerate the development of credible capability.”
Matthew Whitaker, NATO ambassador, said on Thursday that NATO allies in Europe will take more responsibility for their defense.
“The United States will not leave Europe,” Whitaker added, and we must also equalize, and the European allies are aware of the need to spend more on their defense.
Whitaker stated that “we need to ensure that our European allies pay their fair share as President Trump says every time. We’re going to see significant developments when we head to the June summit.” Whitaker did not give any indication as to Trump’s plans to attend the gathering.
Trump has been arguing for years that NATO members should increase their military expenditures. In March, he told reporters in the Oval Office that the United States would not defend countries that do not spend enough money.
“It is common sense, right?” He said it at the time. “If they do not pay, I will not defend them.” “No, I won’t defend them.”
