![\"epa13062028](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_302752118-6881.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe President has been critical of other countries not reaching the required spending amount (Picture: EPA)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThe President has been critical of other countries not reaching the required spending amount (Picture: EPA)<\/p>\n
Donald\u00a0Trump\u00a0has criticised defence spending by the UK and other European allies yet again ahead of a NATO summit.<\/p>\n
Taking to Truth Social, Trump\u00a0wrote: \u201cThe United States spends more money on\u00a0NATO\u00a0than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing: US 999 Billion Dollars, United Kingdom, 90.5 Billion Dollars, France<\/a>, 66.5 Billion Dollars, Italy, 48.8 Billion Dollars, Poland, 44.3 Billion Dollars. Others, including Germany, are MUCH LOWER. (2014-2025) Ridiculous!\u2019<\/p>\n He also shared data related to defence spending estimates by\u00a0Nato\u00a0members in 2025 alone, where US funding stood at \u00a3733 billion, compared with the \u00a3455 billion of all the other members combined.<\/p>\n He later posted: \u2018Ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one-sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal. They were not there for us!!! President DJT.\u2019<\/p>\n The US<\/a> president cited national military funding figures to renew his charge that America is bankrolling the protection of other countries without getting any benefit.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the UK\u2019s top diplomat in Washington said Britain had heard Trump\u2019s call and was \u2018putting our money where our mouth is\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t The president\u2019s latest sabre-rattling comes ahead of next week\u2019s meeting of\u00a0NATO leaders in Ankara, Turkey<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tensions over defence funding have been further fuelled by the president\u2019s designs on Greenland<\/a>, which belongs to fellow\u00a0Nato\u00a0member Denmark<\/a>, and the response of allies \u2013 including Britain \u2013 to the Iran<\/a> war.<\/p>\n Last month, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of American military forces in Europe as he questioned if some members were meeting their spending commitments.<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> already announced plans to hike defence spending by \u00a315 billion, but Downing Street is unable to say exactly where the cuts required to pay for the increase will come from.<\/p>\n Even with the latest increase, former defence secretary John Healey<\/a> \u2013 who quit in protest at the level of extra military funding being offered \u2013 said the UK would be spending 2.7% of economic output on defence in 2030.<\/p>\n He stressed the need to \u2018develop a clear, credible funding plan\u2019 to ensure the UK met its\u00a0Nato\u00a0commitment to spend 3.5% GDP by 2035.<\/p>\n \t\t US secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month the upcoming\u00a0Nato\u00a0summit would probably be the most important in its history, with issues \u2018that need to be cleared up and fixed\u2019.<\/p>\n The head of US forces in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, also warned at the time there had been \u2018an unhealthy co-dependence\u2019 by\u00a0Nato\u00a0on American forces.<\/p>\n Writing in the New York Post, the British ambassador to the US, Sir Christian Turner, said: \u2018President Donald\u00a0Trump\u00a0has been consistent, and he is correct: America\u2019s allies must do more for their own defence and for our collective security.\u2019<\/p>\n With America about to mark its 250th anniversary of independence from Britain on July 4, Sir Christian said what began as a bitter conflict had been \u2018forged into the deepest, closest alliance between any two nations\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018A stronger Britain means a stronger\u00a0NATO, and a stronger\u00a0NATO\u00a0means a more secure America,\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_303813788-7875.jpg\")
\n\t\tNATO Secretary General Mark Rutte showed a chart during a meeting in the White House (Picture: PA)<\/p>\n![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_300833258-f85c.jpg\")
\n\t\tEuropean countries are trying to increase NATO defence spending (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
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