Trump's NATO pressure campaign continues as summit begins

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Politics Trump's NATO pressure campaign continues as summit begins July 7, 20265:00 AM ET By Fatma Tanis , Danielle Kurtzleben U. President Donald Trump (R) and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte (L) appear during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on June 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Just days before his arrival in Turkey for the annual NATO summit, President Trump made it clear that in his mind, he and the world's largest defense alliance are not on good terms.

"The United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing," he posted on social media on July 2, adding, "Ridiculous! " And so his arrival in Ankara kicks off another potentially tense meeting between the leader of the alliance's key superpower and the other member nations, who have watched him criticize the organization for a decade. Sponsor Message Trump's U.

The Details

leadership has led to a tumultuous decade for the world's biggest defense alliance. During his first term, he railed against the 77-year-old North Atlantic Treaty Organization, calling it "obsolete" and accusing NATO members of failing to pay their fair share. French President Emmanuel Macron, acknowledging Trump's tenuous commitment, said the allies were suffering from the "brain death of NATO.

" The alliance then experienced a resurgence in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which mobilized member states to address the conflict. But in his second term, Trump has resumed his complaints about NATO, specifically focusing on burden-sharing within the organization. He also angered member nations last year with his insistence last year that the U.

would take over Greenland. As thirty-two-member countries gather this week, Western defense industry experts say they are holding their breath and praying nothing interesting actually happens. It is likely to be less substantive than previous summits, according to Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan, nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.

What Experts Say

"There is a bit of summit fatigue when it comes to NATO. There are not usually summits every single year of the NATO alliance's history," Bergmann said. "What you have here is a lot of smoke and mirrors, to sort of keep President Trump engaged in supporting the NATO alliance.

This is an effort to get through the summer summit period without the Transatlantic Alliance fracturing and breaking apart. " Sponsor Message Staying committed to increasing defense spending, improving industry and military supply chains, and the war in Ukraine are all on the agenda this year. "In Ankara we are going to show the world that we are delivering on the commitment we made in the Hague last year, we will breathe life into the concept known as NATO 3.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.