NATO Members Suddenly Poised To Meet Military Spending Targets Days After Trump Railed Against Alliance
Daily CallerFeb 14
NATO Chief: 'Unprecedented Rise' in Member Defense Spending
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The Facts
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday – the eve of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels – said the organization has seen an "unprecedented rise" in defense spending among its member countries.
Stoltenberg was responding to comments made by former US Pres. Donald Trump, who on Saturday warned he would allow Russia to attack NATO members who are "delinquent" in spending 2% of their GDPs on defense.
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
NATO is obviously waking up to the fact that a second Trump presidency is in the offing. The alliance's members are preparing to increase their spending, just as they did when Trump first took office and put them on notice. Under Trump, the US isn't going to protect any country who's not sufficiently invested in its own security and the protection of its allies.
Anti-Trump narrative
There are almost too many inaccuracies in Trump's understanding of NATO to break them all down. But a full two years before Trump took office, NATO decided that 2% of GDP would be a goal for defense spending, and it would be strived for over time. Countries who aren't meeting the goal aren't costing the US money. NATO isn't a protection racket, it's an alliance.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that NATO will have at least 32 member countries by Dec. 31, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.