Trump arrives in Ankara for NATO summit amid renewed criticism of alliance
President Trump reached Turkey for the NATO summit, reiterating demands for higher defense spending by allies while NATO leaders seek to keep the alliance united.
President Donald Trump landed in Ankara on Thursday to attend the NATO summit, where he again questioned the value of the alliance for the United States. On July 2 he posted that the United States "spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing," calling the situation "ridiculous."
Trump’s comments revive a decade-long pattern of criticism. During his first term he labeled NATO "obsolete" and accused members of not paying their fair share, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to warn of a "brain death of NATO." The alliance, however, regained momentum after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Analysts expect the 32-nation gathering to focus on defense spending, supply-chain resilience and the war in Ukraine. Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said summit fatigue is evident and described the meeting as “a lot of smoke and mirrors” aimed at keeping Trump engaged and preventing a split in the transatlantic partnership.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (note: original text mistakenly named Mark Rutte) said the summit will demonstrate progress on the “NATO 3.0” concept, which envisions a stronger Europe taking more responsibility for its security while the United States reduces its forward presence. Bergmann warned that the Pentagon’s policy push to shift more defense duties to Europe could undermine U.S. influence.
U.S. ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker told reporters that Trump expects allies to move quickly toward a 5% GDP defense-spending target. Yet Bergmann noted that the broader issue is the long-standing U.S. preference for European coordination with America rather than an independent European defense capability.
European officials emphasized that NATO will remain a transatlantic alliance, with a “more European NATO” but not one without the United States, according to Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund.
Analysts said keeping Trump satisfied is a priority for the summit’s host, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has used data on recent defense-spending increases to show progress. Torrey Taussig of the Atlantic Council said the summit’s success will be judged after leaders depart Ankara.
Turkey’s role as host adds another layer of complexity. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s close relationship with Trump may help ease tensions, but concerns remain about Turkey’s democratic backsliding and its past obstruction of NATO enlargement.
The summit will test whether the alliance can reconcile Trump’s demand for higher spending with its broader strategic goals.
