NATO chief credits Trump for Europe’s defence spending surge

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has strongly defended US President Donald Trump’s approach to the alliance, crediting him with pushing European allies to increase defence spending and modernize their armed forces.

In an interview with POLITICO on the sidelines of the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Rutte said Trump had been right to pressure allies to invest more in their militaries.

“He was right on pressing NATO allies to boost defense spending, he was right in getting them to modernize their militaries, and he was right to launch a war with Iran,” Rutte said.

“I just like the man. I think what he is doing for NATO is great news,” he added.

Rutte’s comments amounted to a strong endorsement of Trump’s policies, which have at times caused tensions among NATO members. Some allies have questioned Trump’s commitment to the alliance following his remarks on Greenland, his comments regarding NATO’s Article 5 collective defence commitment, criticism of fellow leaders, the withdrawal of some US troops from Germany, and a broader Pentagon review of the American military presence in Europe.

The NATO chief said Trump was achieving a long-standing goal of US presidents to create a more balanced distribution of defence spending between Washington and European allies.

“President Trump [is] basically achieving what, since Eisenhower, American presidents tried to achieve, which is to equalize the defense spending between the U.S. and Europe,” Rutte said.

He described this year’s NATO summit as “transformational” for the alliance, saying it would lead to billions of dollars in additional investment in critical defence programs.

Over the past two years, NATO’s 31 non-US members have committed around $250 billion in new defence programs and investments, with additional agreements and pledges expected during the summit.

Rutte said European allies are increasingly strengthening their own military capabilities to reduce reliance on the United States.

“You have to build a NATO which is sustainable and therefore is not over reliant on the U.S. as a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO, where the Europeans and the Canadians are really stepping up,” he said.

He added that increased defence spending was driven not only by Trump’s pressure but also by concerns over Russia’s actions in Ukraine and broader security challenges.

“We've got to do this because of the Russians' threat, and we see what the Russians are doing in Ukraine,” Rutte said.

He said NATO’s goal was to protect the alliance’s population of nearly 1 billion people from a range of threats, including Russia, China’s military expansion, and growing cooperation between Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

Rutte also rejected claims that European allies failed to support the United States during the US military campaign against Iran.

Trump previously criticized European governments for not offering greater assistance, saying during a meeting with Rutte at the White House:

“We were let down. We didn't need help on this at all. We demolished [Iran] literally in the first week but it would have been nice if they would have said, ‘We’d like to help.’”

Rutte argued that European countries played a key role in enabling the US operation.

“The U.S. probably could not have done Epic Fury without using Europe as one big platform of power projection,” he said.

He cited Romania’s decision to close its largest commercial airport to support US operations and noted that thousands of aircraft had operated from European airfields despite Trump’s criticism that allies had not contributed enough.

A senior White House official said Trump was arriving in Ankara with both optimism and concerns over Iran.

“It's both. I know that may be an oxymoron but there's hopefulness that even after what happened after Iran that maybe there's a path forward,” the official said.

Rutte maintained that despite disagreements, NATO remains united and that European allies continue to support the United States.

“I think the president has a point that there are individual cases where he is rightly disappointed, but when you look at the bigger picture of what the Europeans are doing, it is massive,” Rutte said.

By Vafa Guliyeva