Trump secures increased spending commitments from NATO member nations

During his 2024 presidential campaign, one of then-candidate Donald Trump’s primary themes was that if elected, he would restore America’s standing and influence on the world stage, and just months into his second term, he appears to be doing just that.

As Just the News reports, at last week’s NATO summit, Trump secured agreements from member nations to devote 5% of economic output to defense, a significant increase many believed was impossible. 

Trump hails achievement

Speaking about the historic nature of the agreement, Trump declared the summit at which it was reached “a very historic milestone,” according to The Guardian.

The terms of the pact require NATO nations to boost current defense spending levels to 5% of GDP by 2035.

That expenditure will be primarily in the form of core military spending, with the rest going toward intelligence, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and the like.

In Trump’s estimation, the commitments secured represent “a monumental win for the United States, because we were carrying more than our fair share.”

He also declared it “a big win for Europe and for actually western civilization” in that Europe would begin “stepping up to take more responsibility.”

Feasibility under scrutiny

Though the scenario outlined at the summit would be a vast improvement from current spending levels, whether it is achievable is a subject of much debate.

Blueprints for reaching the stated goals must be finalized by member nations next year, with an organization-wide review set to occur in 2029.

Currently, no country rises to the 5% level required by 2035, with Poland, Estonia, the U.S., and Latvia the closest to the goal at present.

Spain, Italy, and Canada have a long way to go, as they are still below the old target of 2%, causing some to wonder if their commitments can or will be upheld.

Former NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu indicated that while the financial realities leave room for doubt, the political will to do so is evident.

Wielding American power

Trump’s masterful achievement at the NATO summit comes amid a series of wins that have the commander in chief riding high not just at home but across the globe.

In what appeared to many as a clear flex of the leverage he knows that he and the United States currently wield, when asked whether he would remain committed to the mutual defense pact embodied by NATO’s Article 5, Trump said coyly, “There’s numerous definitions of Article 5, you know that right?”