Wednesday marked the conclusion of a NATO summit that was meant to please President Trump. His European allies approved an ambitious spending goal to counter the threat posed by a militarizing Russia and secured the long-awaited public commitment from the erratic American leader to the alliance's collective defense. Since his first term, Mr. Trump has been pressing for the allies to spend more on their own defense. On Wednesday, after a one-day meeting in the Netherlands, they agreed to raise their spending on the military to 5 percent of their national income by 2035.
This figure is made up of 3.5% for traditional military requirements like troops, weapons, shells, and missiles—a significant increase from the current goal of 2%. It also includes another 1.5 percent on “militarily adjacent” projects like improved roads and bridges, better emergency health care, better cybersecurity and civic resilience.
Mr. Trump was pleased.
“This was a tremendous summit, and I enjoyed it very much,” he said at a news conference at the end of the meeting. He added that he understood the central role the United States plays in the defense of Europe. “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.
