Trump demands 3% GDP defense spending for NATO support
Donald Trump announced what must happen for him to help NATO members in the event of a potential armed conflict. "I’ll insist that every NATO nation must spend at least 3 per cent. You have to go up to 3 per cent — 2 per cent is the steal of the century, especially as we’re paying for it," declared the Republican candidate for President of the USA.
Trump claimed that for years, all NATO countries spent "far less" than 2 per cent of GDP on their defence, which, according to him, left American forces "overstretched." "We were the ones making up the difference and paying for it to make up for shortfalls and help deter threats," Trump said during a speech to the association of National Guard soldiers in Detroit.
"I’ll insist that every NATO nation must spend at least 3 per cent. You have to go up to 3 per cent — 2 per cent is the steal of the century, especially as we’re paying for it. You know, we pay for them. It’s just not even believable," added the former U.S. President, who is running for re-election.
Defence spending of allies
According to NATO data, currently, only five member states spend more than 3 per cent of GDP on defence: Poland, Estonia, the USA, Latvia, and Greece. Two-thirds of the countries meet the spending requirement at the 2 percent level.
Polish President Andrzej Duda submitted a proposal to raise this threshold to 3 percent in March before his visit to the White House. U.S. President Joe Biden did not support it.
Is Europe taking advantage of the USA?
During Monday's speech, Trump again accused European countries of taking advantage of the USA. According to him, this happens both in trade and in military relations. Trump also stated that Europe should be more interested in supporting Ukraine, and America supposedly pays $150 billion more for this purpose (according to EU data, Europe collectively spends more).
