Donald Trump’s unprecedented incitement once morest NATO has sparked sharp criticism: European leaders were shocked by Trump’s suggestion that the US would not protect NATO members who did not meet the alliance’s spending target.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that any suggestion that the alliance’s states would not defend each other would undermine the security of all members. EU Council President Charles Michel criticized that “reckless statements” regarding NATO security only served the interests of Russian President Putin. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that NATO should not depend on the whims of a US president. Europe’s politicians agreed that the European arms industry needed to be expanded. Nothing was heard from the Kremlin. He is still President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, “but not Trump’s,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
A sober look shows that Trump’s criticism is entirely justified. According to NATO estimates, only eleven of the soon to be 32 NATO states, including Sweden, reached the two percent target last year. Poland spent the most, with 3.9 percent of its GDP, followed by the USA with 3.49 percent.
