Trump Gets NATO To Pony Up After Detractors Said He Would Tank Alliance

NATO members agreed to raise their defense spending from 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5% by 2035 following pressure from President Donald Trump, vindicating the president against critics who warned his tough stance would undermine the alliance.

The commitment between the 32 member countries was reached on Wednesday during a summit in the Netherlands. Trump lauded the increase as a “big win for the U.S., Europe and Western civilization,” rebutting years of warnings from Democrats and foreign policy elites who claimed that demanding more substantial contributions from allies would shatter the pact.

In a statement issued by the NATO heads of state, the leaders reaffirmed their “ironclad commitment to collective defense,” as outlined in Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

Trump has long criticized NATO members for failing to meet their obligations to spend at least 2% of their GDP, while the U.S. continues to shoulder billions in European defense costs. In 2024, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain fell below the 2% threshold, according to the Atlantic Council.

This concern has come into sharp focus amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Since 2022, the U.S. has contributed