WASHINGTON, United States — United States President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), describing Washington’s current level of support for the military alliance as “ridiculous” and arguing that the relationship has become unfairly one-sided.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump questioned the value of the decades-old alliance, saying the United States was carrying a disproportionate share of the defence burden while receiving insufficient support from its allies.
“They were not there for us!!!” Trump wrote, adding that Washington’s relationship with NATO “is not reciprocal.”
The remarks come less than a week before NATO leaders are scheduled to meet for a summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on July 7–8, where defence spending and the alliance’s long-term security strategy are expected to dominate discussions.
Pressure on allies
Trump has repeatedly urged European allies to assume greater responsibility for their own defence, arguing that the United States has spent significantly more on NATO than many other member states.
His latest social media post included a chart comparing defence spending among alliance members, highlighting the United States’ contribution relative to other countries.
The US president has also criticised several European governments over their response to the recent conflict involving Iran, saying some allies restricted the use of military bases by American forces during the crisis.
His administration has already begun scaling back certain overseas security commitments as part of a broader policy aimed at shifting more defence responsibilities to European partners.
Defence spending target
Under sustained pressure from Trump, NATO leaders agreed last year to increase defence-related spending to 5pc of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, a significant increase from the alliance’s previous benchmark.
The spending target is expected to feature prominently at next week’s summit, where leaders from the alliance’s 32 member states will review progress on burden-sharing and collective security.
NATO was established in 1949 as a collective defence alliance, with Article 5 of its founding treaty providing that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
The alliance played a central role during the Cold War by deterring Soviet expansion and has since expanded its focus to include counterterrorism, cyber security and support for partners facing external aggression.