Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House and Russian aggression have worried NATO member states, which are rushing to increase their defense spending.
According to three officials the NATO will announce today that 18 of its 31 members will hit the Defense Spending Alliance’s target of 2% of GDP this year – a figure likely to rise as budgets are realigned.
“NATO expects around two-thirds of allies to reach 2% in 2024,” a NATO official told the Financial Times.
The defense expenditures of the NATO member states increased significantly following the war launched by the Russia in Ukrainebut also during his tenure Donald Trumpas the US president berated European allies at every opportunity for not spending enough to catch up.
The possibility of a second Trump term scares NATO
Just five NATO member states had hit the target in 2016, while today Poland spends 3.9% of its GDP on defence, ahead of USA (3.1%), while countries such as Spain fall significantly short spending just over 1% of their GDP.
An avowed NATO skeptic and isolationist, Trump has previously threatened to withdraw the US from the military alliance that guarantees Europe’s defense and security. But he rebounded last week, shocking European leaders, when he said in a campaign speech in South Carolina that he would urge Russia to “do whatever it wants” to NATO members that do not meet the defense spending target.
Trump’s lead in the polls over the current US president Joe Biden sparks intense concern at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Trump’s appeasement strategy
European diplomats and officials say continuing to increase defense spending is the first leg of a strategy to contain Trump’s criticism.
According to iefimerida, the second involves shifting NATO’s attention to issues more important to Trump, such as containing China or countering terrorism.
Finally, the allies realize that they will have to resort to a mixture of flattery and charm to win his admiration.
“There’s a lot of talk regarding Trump,” said a senior NATO diplomat. “What’s the best way to handle a future President Trump? … Basically a combination of flattery and firmness.”
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