During his first term, Trump had already suggested that NATO members should boost their defense spending to 4 percent of GDP. A NATO report in June showed that a record 23 member countries out of 32 were hitting the alliance’s 2 percent target for defense spending.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has partially sided with Trump on this issue. “We will have to spend more … It will be much more than the 2 percent. I’m clear about that,” Rutte said during the European Political Community summit in Budapest last month.
“It is time to shift to a wartime mindset,” Rutte later said following reports that NATO will set a new spending target of 3 percent of GDP by 2030.
In an NBC interview Dec. 8, Trump said Washington would “absolutely” stay in NATO “if they [allies] pay their bills” — and that he would have no problem leaving if that wasn’t the case.
