Donald Trump is escalating pressure on European allies before a major NATO gathering, declaring the military alliance's relationship with Washington is fundamentally broken and calling current arrangements "ridiculous."
In a post on his Truth Social platform Thursday, Trump criticized NATO as "one sided" and accused member states of abandoning the US when it mattered most. "They were not there for us," he wrote, citing frustration over the alliance's refusal to participate more actively in American military operations in the Middle East.
The complaint centers on how European nations restricted American use of their military bases during operations targeting Iran. Trump has made their reluctance a focal point of his broader criticism that the relationship between Washington and NATO is not reciprocal.
Trump's post included charts comparing defense spending across NATO members, highlighting the vast gap between American investment and contributions from countries like the UK and France. The disparity underscores his repeated argument that the US shoulders too much of the alliance's burden while other members do too little.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly acknowledged Trump's disappointment with European allies, calling their lukewarm response to Middle East operations a serious point of contention. Speaking to NATO foreign ministers in May, Rubio signaled that the rift would dominate discussions at the upcoming summit in Ankara on July 7 and 8, describing it as "one of the more important" in the alliance's 77-year history.
The summit will bring together representatives from all 32 NATO member states. Trump has made clear he expects Europe to take the lead on defending itself rather than relying on American military might and resources. The administration has already begun scaling back its commitments to reflect this shift in strategy.
At a NATO summit last year, member states agreed under pressure from Trump to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035. But the president views that commitment as insufficient and wants to see more dramatic changes in how the alliance operates and who pays for it.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump is walking into Ankara with his grievance list loaded and his patience exhausted. Europe should expect demands, not diplomacy."
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