President Trump said he left the NATO summit feeling differently about the alliance than when he arrived, after countries showed their appreciation for the U.S.
“I came here because it was something I’m supposed to be doing, but I left here a little bit different,” Mr. Trump said at his post-NATO press conference Wednesday.
He said he watched other world leaders at the summit talk about the love and passion they have for their countries.
“I’ve never seen quite anything like it,” he said. “They want to protect their country, and they need the United States, and without the United States, it’s not going to be the same.”
He said the world leaders were respectful of him.
“Almost every one of them said, ’Thank God for the United States,’” he said. “I left here differently. I left here saying that these people really love their countries. It’s not a rip-off, and we’re here to help them protect their country.”
Mr. Trump has been a vocal critic of NATO in the past, continuously accusing its members of failing to pull their own weight on defense spending, leaving the U.S. to carry the burden for mutual defense — largely against Russia.
At his first NATO summit, in 2017, Mr. Trump confronted mostly silent representatives about their countries’ obligations to increase their spending on mutual defense.
“Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States,” he said at the time.
NATO allies Wednesday agreed to increase their spending from 2% of gross domestic product to 5% by 2035.
“United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, Allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defense requirements as well as defense-and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations,” said a joint NATO declaration.
