He made the statement at a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. Trump first recalled that during his first term in the White House, from 2017-2021, NATO member countries bowed to his pressure and began to ramp up military spending.
He then said, «Money came in by the billions and billions and billions of dollars, and NATO became much stronger. Now NATO has expended a lot of that money and fighting this horrible war.»
«Too bad they had to do that,» the president continued.
Asked whether America has a future in NATO, Trump said, «NATO has to treat us fairly. If they pay their bills and if they do what they’re supposed to do.»
«I made a certain statement that I’m not going to be involved with NATO unless you’re going to pay your bills,» he went on to say. «If you’re not paying your bills, I’m not going to help.»
Moscow has repeatedly stated that the collective West unleashed an undeclared war against Russia in Ukraine.
Trump has reiterated multiple times in recent months that he wanted to push NATO member states to increase their defense spending to 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Previously, at a summit in Wales in September 2014, the alliance set a goal for members to bring military spending to 2% of GDP, motivating it by an alleged Russian threat. That happened after the reunification of Crimea with Russia. In July 2023, at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, it was decided that 2% of GDP should be a minimum level of defense spending for NATO states, rather than the ultimate goal.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in February that the Trump administration does not plan to pull the country out of NATO but will not tolerate an imbalance in relations with Europe that fosters Brussels’ dependence on Washington.