Trump attacks NATO support ahead of Ankara summit
Donald Trump has criticised the United States' current relationship with NATO as "ridiculous" and "one sided" in a post published less than a week before the alliance's summit in Ankara. He said Washington's relationship with the military bloc is "not reciprocal" and added: "They were not there for us!!!" The comments add fresh pressure to an already strained transatlantic debate over burden-sharing and military commitments. In the post, Trump referred to the war in Iran and accused allies of failing to support the United States during the conflict.
Sponsored
He also shared a chart showing NATO spending, highlighting that the US invests far more than some other members, including the UK and France. The remarks were made on Thursday, according to the supplied report, and came as Trump again argued that Europe should take the lead in its own defence. The dispute comes after NATO leaders agreed last year, under pressure from Trump, to raise defence-related spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035.
The alliance's secretary of state has said Trump is disappointed that allies did not become more actively involved in attacks on Iran. Marco Rubio, speaking after a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in May, said the issue would be discussed at the July meeting in the Turkish capital and described it as one of the more important summits in NATO's 77-year history. The latest comments matter because they go to the core of NATO's political bargain: collective defence in return for shared costs and shared risk.
Trump has repeatedly challenged that bargain, arguing that the US carries too much of the burden while European allies do too little. That position has implications not only for alliance unity, but also for how member states plan defence spending, military readiness and future cooperation in the Middle East and Europe. NATO was founded in 1949 and has long been presented as a US-led defence alliance central to stability in Europe and to Washington's global influence.
Sponsored
The current row reflects a broader pattern in which Trump has used public pressure to push allies toward higher spending and greater military self-reliance. The Ankara summit, due to bring together 32 member states on 7 and 8 July, is now expected to be a key test of whether those tensions can be managed in a formal setting. What remains unclear is whether Trump's latest criticism will lead to any immediate policy change or whether it is intended to shape the agenda before the summit begins.
It is also not yet clear how other NATO members will respond publicly to the remarks or whether the alliance will issue a collective answer. The coming days are likely to show whether the Ankara meeting narrows the rift or exposes it further.
Sponsored
