(The Center Square) \u2013 Ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey, President Donald Trump is calling out several NATO partners for their spending.<\/p>\n
The president is set to attend the summit next week, months after Trump toyed with the idea of withdrawing from the treaty.<\/p>\n
Criticism of NATO by the Trump administration ramped up after several NATO nations were reluctant to assist the U.S. in the conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the president highlighted how much U.S. taxpayers spend on NATO, noting the U.S. spends more than any other partner country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing: U.S. 999 billion dollars, United Kingdom, 90.5 billion dollars, France 66.5 billion dollars, Italy, 48.8 billion dollars, Poland, 44.3 billion dollars. Others, including Germany, are much lower (2014-2025,\u201d the president posted on Truth Social.<\/p>\n
Since taking office for a second time, Trump has pressured NATO member nations to increase their GDP spending on defense, with the U.S. contributing about $753 million, about 16% of NATO common funds in 2024, according to\u00a0Taxpayers for Common Sense<\/a>.<\/p>\n The president has called on NATO nations to increase their NATO contributions to 5% of their GDP.<\/p>\n The president indicated earlier this year that he was considering withdrawing from NATO. During a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office on March 17, The Center Square asked Trump whether he was reconsidering America\u2019s relationship with NATO and whether he might withdraw from it.<\/p>\n The president responded by expressing disappointment in NATO\u2019s lack of support for the U.S. strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019m disappointed in NATO that we spend trillions of dollars on NATO. Think of it, trillions over the years \u2026 It\u2019s one of the reasons we have deficits and we help other countries when they don\u2019t help us,\u201d\u00a0Trump told The Center Square<\/a>. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s certainly something that we should think about.\u201d<\/p>\n Some NATO countries, including France, Spain and Italy, have come under scrutiny for prohibiting American forces from using bases in those countries to carry out strikes against the Iranian regime and assisting the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Other administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have supported the president\u2019s criticism of NATO.<\/p>\n In May, while attending a NATO meeting in Sweden, Rubio addressed the strained relationship between the U.S. and some NATO countries with respect to their lack of support for the U.S. operations against Iran, underscoring the conflict in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president\u2019s views, frankly, disappointment at some of our NATO allies and their responses to our operations in the Middle East, are well documented. That will have to be addressed, but that won\u2019t be solved or addressed today,\u201d Rubio told reporters during the meeting.<\/p>\n The secretary called the differences within NATO over cooperation a \u201cchallenge,\u201d highlighting the different political dynamics and budgetary constraints impacting the alliance.<\/p>\n Rubio criticized many NATO nations for their lack of defense spending, a long-time source of contention between Trump and NATO.<\/p>\n \u201cSome countries are still lagging,\u201d said the secretary of state.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Hegseth attended the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels, Belgium, urging NATO nations to take a more active lead, including in their spending. The secretary told NATO partners that the Department of War would undergo a six-month review of American military troops based in Europe.<\/p>\n