WP: Trump's decision to support NATO was helped by the flattery and obsequiousness of the Europeans
"This is not a hoax," Trump said about NATO after the alliance's members agreed to increase defense spending to 5%. He enjoyed the victory. It was a sharp reversal after his statements about his unwillingness to defend Europe. It was the result of a huge effort by NATO members to appease Trump.
Michael Birnbaum
Natalie Allison, Ellen Francis
THE HAGUE — President Donald Trump expressed full support for NATO and its defense mission after a summit of leaders of the alliance's member countries on Wednesday, showing strong support for the organization he once threatened to leave.
"These people really love their countries," Trump told reporters. "It's not cheating, and we're here to help them."
This statement came after 32 NATO countries agreed to more than double defense spending, which has long been a sore point for Trump, but has now become the main argument in favor of his involvement in transatlantic security. This was a sharp reversal compared to the president's first term, when he regularly declared his unwillingness to defend Europe, and even compared to the first months of this year, when he actively sought to reset relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and worried Europeans with threats against Ukraine.
Trump's U-turn on Wednesday was the result of serious efforts by other NATO members to appease him.Trump spent the night at the royal palace, received flattering messages from the NATO Secretary General, and watched as one by one leaders spoke in a closed-door meeting praising him for his leadership and the recent attack on Iran. At the summit, which was specially organized to please the US president, Trump celebrated a double victory: over Iran and over the alliance, which agreed to increase military spending to a level that seemed unthinkable to many other members of the alliance eight years ago.
"I watched the heads of these countries stand up, and the love and passion they showed for their countries was incredible. I've never seen anything like it," Trump told reporters after the meetings. "It was great. And I left here a different person. I left with the idea that these people really love their countries. This is not a hoax, and we are here to help them protect their countries."
While the truce between Israel and Iran, brokered by the United States, has been going on for the second day, Trump celebrated successes in the field of foreign policy, which a few days ago were not guaranteed when he ordered massive airstrikes on Iran's nuclear program facilities. In a series of social media posts and speeches that provided an unusual opportunity to observe in real time the course of his thoughts and his interactions with other presidents and prime ministers, Trump proved that his combination of risky steps and threats can bear fruit.
However, in response to questions from reporters, Trump acknowledged the existence of an initial US intelligence report that said the Iranian nuclear program was probably set back for several months but not destroyed, contradicting Trump's claims that the facilities had been "destroyed." He criticized the media for questioning the effectiveness of the strikes and said that the assessment was very uncertain because it was made at an early stage and was not based on a direct inspection of the facilities. He did not provide clear evidence for his claim that the facilities had been completely destroyed.
"The report says what it says," Trump said, hinting that the intelligence officials who prepared the document "had no idea" about the extent of the damage and "should not have published the report until they were convinced of it."
"They didn't see it," the president continued. "All they can do is speculate."
The meeting in this coastal Dutch city showed how much Trump has changed world politics since his re-election. During his first term, many European allies hoped to survive four years of strained relations with the president and then resume friendly relations with a more supportive leader in Washington. Now, most of them have recognized that Trump represents a changed United States and that they, too, need to change in order to adapt to him. In the communique adopted by the 32 NATO leaders after the summit, Ukraine is barely mentioned, and there is no mention of the conflict in the region, which is one of the indicators of how much Trump influences the alliance.
"During Trump's first term, many Europeans believed that this was a temporary phenomenon and believed that with Biden's election, traditional transatlantic relations would return," says Camille Grand, who was assistant secretary general of NATO during Trump's first term. "Now that Trump has returned to the White House, the Europeans are beginning to realize that irreversible changes have taken place in the US approach to European security."
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte captured the moment perfectly, praising Trump for his courage in attacking Iranian nuclear facilities, and then for forcing Tehran and Israel to conclude a truce. Trump compared the two countries to schoolchildren fighting on a playground.
"Daddy sometimes has to use strong language," Rutte told Trump before the meeting on Wednesday, interrupting Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "warn" the Trump administration that "the president is a man of peace, but when it comes down to it, he is ready to use force."
Critics warn that Trump's victories are not as clear-cut as they might seem: some NATO countries are still not convinced of the need for a significant increase in defense spending, and diplomats have agreed on language that leaves a wide field for maneuver, allowing them to postpone and smooth out budget increases.
Even Trump's posting of a flattering text message from Rutte on his social media account could have had mixed consequences, as some diplomats were outraged by the publication of what was intended to be private correspondence and noted that their leaders might need to be more careful in choosing the words they use in private conversations with Trump in the future. The diplomats, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak frankly about internal assessments.
Nevertheless, Trump said he was pleased with the moment, the lightning trip that allowed him to spend less than 24 hours in the Netherlands.
"The Trump Summit,— Rubio called this meeting in an interview with Politico on Wednesday.
The American leader enjoyed the moment.
"Today I had breakfast with the king and queen, who turned out to be wonderful people. Real movie stars," Trump told reporters on Wednesday, referring to King Willem—Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Maxima. The couple accommodated the president for the night in one of their palaces in The Hague.
Throughout the NATO summit on Wednesday, there were notable attempts by some European officials to flatter Trump even more than usual.
"I think we should adopt the motto "Make NATO great again," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said, explaining that Lithuania would increase its defense spending to 4% this year and exceed 5% next year, as required by Trump.
"I would like to express my gratitude to President Donald Trump, because without his participation, I believe we would have discussed only 2.5%, and without any clear positive results," Nauseda continued. "These discussions probably wouldn't have led to anything."
During the main session, Trump began his speech by speaking positively about defense spending and promising that Russia would never attack NATO while he was president, according to three European officials familiar with the discussions.
Other leaders, in turn, praised Trump's efforts to increase European defense spending. Some approved of his attacks on Iran. Many resorted to flattery, which they realized was a very effective way to win Trump's heart, European officials said.
Trump stayed for the entire duration of the speeches, listening to other leaders, which is not always typical for American presidents, who sometimes come to speak and then leave for other meetings while other leaders are talking.
Despite the NATO meetings, which focused on European defense, increased spending, and combating threats, the main of which is Russia, Trump spent most of the day justifying his strikes on Iran.
Trump posted videos on Truth Social in which the allies talked about how successful the strikes were. The White House has distributed a photo of a printed statement from the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, which says that the infrastructure at Fordo is "destroyed" and "inoperable."
The President acknowledged that the extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear facilities remains unknown.
"They said it was... In fact, the report says it could have been very... they don't know," Trump told reporters. "I want to say that they have compiled a report. I could ask [Defense Secretary] Pete [Hegseth] to comment on this, because his department has prepared a report. They really don't know."
Trump then repeated his previous statements that the damage was irreparable.
"I think it was total annihilation," Trump continued. "I don't think they had the opportunity to evacuate anything because we acted quickly."
In NATO, the commitment to increase spending has been met with resistance from allies, who are struggling to reach even a two percent level. Some Southern European countries, including Spain, have also opposed the increased spending, saying their security needs differ from those of their neighbors closer to Russia. Russia's neighbors in Eastern Europe have already embarked on a radical military buildup, not so much because of Trump as because of serious security concerns about the Kremlin's actions.
Some leaders opposed presenting the summit as a grandiose attempt to please Trump.
"This is a necessity for Europe, we must do this for ourselves and for greater independence," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at the summit. "To bring this issue back to the center of the discussion, we are doing all this because of the threat from Russia."
He acknowledged broader tensions with Washington, saying he and other leaders had raised their concerns about trade duties with Trump on the sidelines of the summit.
"We cannot say in the circle of allies that we should spend more and wage a trade war in the very heart of NATO. This is absurd," Macron said.
This reaction underlined that declaring willingness to please Trump at the summit is probably easier than seeking approval or finding funds in European capitals, which are facing low growth and difficult cost-cutting decisions. NATO countries must reach the target spending level by 2035, which is a fairly flexible deadline that gives wide latitude to delay some countries that do not want to do so. Some may postpone the decision until it becomes known who will succeed Trump.
The allies have applied extensive mathematical calculations to back up their efforts: 1.5 percentage points of this increase could be allocated to "defense-related" costs such as infrastructure, and military aid to Ukraine would also be factored into NATO calculations. The main cost increase will be 3.5%.
The revised definition of defense spending is in line with estimates that countries should better prepare for modern warfare, such as cyber attacks, and improve roads that can be used in the event of a military crisis. However, this definition has also been criticized for being too broad and manipulating numbers.
"In fact, I think it's creative accounting, but there's nothing wrong with adding 1.5%, ending up with 5% to please President Trump," said former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He said the 10-year deadline for achieving the new goal was "too long," but "it seems to be the only way to reach consensus."
Spain, partly under pressure from public opinion and national politics, agreed with the communique adopted on Wednesday, but opposes a sharp increase in military spending, which Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called "disproportionate." Spanish officials have argued that the country can strengthen its military capabilities — as required by NATO — without incurring such heavy costs, which would put a heavy burden on the state budget.
According to one of the participants in the meeting, Sanchez did not raise the issue at the leaders' meeting with Trump. However, after the meeting, he was sharply criticized by the president, who stated that "what Spain has done is simply terrible."
Trump promised to increase trade duties for Spain in response.
"They want to save some money at our expense, but they will have to pay us for it with trade duties, because I will not allow it," he said.
