President Trump touches down in Ankara on Tuesday carrying a grudge that threatens to reshape America's military commitment to Europe. His fury centers on NATO allies who refused to provide air bases for U.S. strikes on Iran or assist with operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a refusal that has crystallized his long-simmering doubts about whether the alliance deserves American protection.
The president has made little effort to hide his contempt. He mocked Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over her request for a G7 photo, posting a meme with the caption "Restraining order needed." He broke news of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's resignation and then called him weak, suggesting his hesitation on Iran proved he was "no Winston Churchill." Even NATO Secretary Mark Rutte, long cultivated as a Trump confidant, failed to appease him last month when presenting a chart of allied defense spending increases. Trump's response was dismissive: "We don't need their money. We don't need anything. I just want loyalty."
The tangible fallout is already visible. The Pentagon has cut the number of Army brigade combat teams stationed in Europe from four to three and canceled a planned deployment of roughly 4,000 troops to Poland. The U.S. is also reducing jets, tankers, and warships assigned to NATO in emergencies, forcing European planners to prepare for conflict with significantly less American firepower.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched a six-month review of U.S. forces in Europe last month, describing allies as "shameful" for denying base access for Iran operations. While officials say a NATO drawdown is not formally on the agenda for this week's summit, the message from Washington has been unmistakable: the president remains deeply dissatisfied with Europe's commitments.
Trump will push allies to accelerate movement toward spending 5 percent of GDP on defense, part of a broader effort to shift what his administration views as an imbalanced burden. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Trump wants to transfer "the burden of the conventional defense of Europe" to European and Canadian shoulders.
The administration is also circling back to Trump's proposal for acquiring Greenland from Denmark, with officials describing it as "the best way to meet the defense needs of NATO" by enabling the U.S. to better monitor Russian activity in the Arctic. Both Denmark and NATO allies have rejected the idea.
Trump's first move in Ankara is a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, currently among the few NATO leaders in his favor. That goodwill is already being tested by a private request from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking Trump to avoid selling Turkey advanced weapons systems due to Erdoğan's anti-Israel rhetoric.
Wednesday brings the formal working session with all NATO leaders, followed by bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and newly appointed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The Zelensky meeting carries the most weight. Ukrainian officials hope for progress on two critical needs: shipments of Patriot air defense systems and American momentum on negotiations to end the war.
The calculation from Washington is shifting. U.S. officials have told allies that Ukraine now has the battlefield advantage, reducing what the White House sees as urgent need for a new diplomatic push. "The Ukrainians are going more on offense and it might be making a difference," one official said. Trump has signaled frustration with Vladimir Putin and is reconsidering understandings the two leaders reached at last year's Alaska summit about principles for ending the conflict.
Trump spoke with both Zelensky and Putin over the weekend and told reporters on Monday that he believes Putin wants to end the war. "The economic situation. The stagnation. The death. The losses are just staggering," one U.S. official said of Putin's situation. "He's running out of meat for the meat grinder."
Yet officials acknowledge the unpredictability involved. "Putin doesn't think the way we do," the official cautioned. "So if we think it's rational to stop, he might not."
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump's transformation of loyalty into the primary test of NATO membership signals a fundamental reckoning with an alliance built on shared values, not personal fealty."
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