Trump praised for getting NATO allies to bolster defense spending: ‘really staggering’

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte lauded President Donald Trump’s efforts to push NATO allies to increase defense spending, amid efforts to end the war in Ukraine. 

Trump has long advocated for NATO allies to ramp up defense spending to between 2% and 5% gross domestic product — and has made it clear that European nations need to shoulder greater responsibility for the security of their continent. 

“You’re starting to hear the British prime minister and others all committing to much higher defense spending,” Rutte told reporters Thursday at the White House. “We’re not there. We need to do more, but I really want to work together with you . . . to make sure that we will have a NATO which is really reinvigorated, under your leadership. And we are getting there.” 

“When you look at Trump 47, what happened the last couple of weeks is really staggering,” Rutte said. 

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Rutte’s comments come as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put forth an $841 billion proposal on March 4 for European Union nations to bolster defense spending. 

Likewise, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged in February to boost his country’s defense spending to 2.5% of its gross domestic value. That is an increase from the 2.3% the U.K. currently spends, and amounts to a nearly $17 billion increase. 

Still, Rutte emphasized the need to strengthen the defense industrial base in both the U.S. and Europe, and cautioned they were falling behind Russia and China in defense production. 

As of 2023, the U.S. spent 3.3% of its GDP on defense spending — totaling $880 billion, according to the nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics. More than 50% of NATO funding comes from the U.S., while other allies — like the United Kingdom, France and Germany — have contributed between 4% and 8% to NATO funding in recent years.

NATO comprises more than 30 countries and originally was formed in 1949 to halt the spread of the Soviet Union.

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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also encouraged NATO allies to beef up defense spending during a trip to Brussels in February. 

“NATO should pursue these goals as well,” Hegseth said. “NATO is a great alliance, the most successful defense alliance in history, but to endure for the future, our partners must do far more for Europe’s defense.” 

Pledges from European and allied nations to increase defense spending coincide with negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. 

Nations including the U.K. and France have proposed deploying troops to ensure that Ukraine is protected from future Russian aggression under a peace negotiation. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.