Warm words for Washington, but beneath the surface there are concerns about the incoming US president’s commitment to European security. In 2017, Mr. Trump called NATO “obsolete” and repeatedly criticized the alliance’s allies
NATO allies are bracing for potentially turbulent transatlantic relations after Republican Donald Trump won the US presidential election. During his first term in office, President Trump questioned NATO’s importance and repeatedly criticized allies for failing to spend enough on defense. But as VOA’s Henry Ridgwell reports, many European countries are echoing calls for increased military spending in the face of the threat from Russia. This week, US officials attended the opening of a US base in Poland for ballistic missile defence, which was scheduled to open in 2008. Official Warsaw praised the commitment shown by the US presidents.
“The United States is truly a guarantor of the security of Poland, as well as of the entire North Atlantic alliance,” the Polish president declared.
Warm words for Washington, but beneath the surface there are concerns about the future US president’s commitment to European security. In 2017, Mr Trump described NATO as “obsolete” and repeatedly criticized the alliance’s allies. “Twenty-three of the 28 member countries are still not paying what they should for their defence. This is not fair to the American taxpayer,” he said during his first term in May 2017. At the 2018 NATO summit, allies said Mr. Trump threatened to pull the United States out of the alliance if European countries did not increase military spending. At the time, Mr. Trump claimed he had succeeded.
“Everybody has agreed to significantly increase their commitments. They are going to increase spending to levels they have never thought of before,” Mr. Trump said at the time. During the presidential election campaign, Mr. Trump again caused a shock to NATO.
“One of the presidents of a great country asked me: ‘Sir, if we don’t pay and we get attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’ I said: ‘You haven’t paid?’ He said: ‘No.’ No, I wouldn’t protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay, you have to pay your bills.” NATO allies could face new pressure to spend more when Mr. Trump takes office, says Fabrice Pothier, a former head of NATO policy planning.
“I’m not so sure we can talk about an existential threat to NATO, like in 2018. But I can say that he will look for hard deals. Not just to more or less reach the military spending target, but perhaps to prepare the ground for a 2.5 or 3 percent increase in spending at the next NATO summit in The Hague in June,” he says. Such an approach is likely to be welcomed by many European countries, following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
“Eastern front allies like Poland, for example, but also the Baltics and even the Nordics are now seeing this as a good thing. But I think there are still some concerns across the alliance about spending that could undermine the credibility of collective defense,” says Fabrice Pothier, a former head of NATO policy planning. Mr. Trump has nominated Matthew Whitaker as his nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to NATO. In a written statement, Mr. Trump says Whitaker “will strengthen relationships with our NATO allies” — and that he “will put America first.” His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
