Trump and NATO leader agree defense spending vital
Listen To Story Above
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with President Trump at the White House Thursday, where both leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining a robust military alliance while highlighting significant increases in European defense spending.
During their Oval Office meeting, Trump stressed the necessity of keeping NATO both powerful and pertinent. This meeting coincided with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff conducting peace negotiations with Russian officials in Moscow regarding the Ukraine conflict.
“You have to keep NATO strong. You have to keep it relevant,” Trump said in the Oval Office while hosting NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister.
The NATO chief acknowledged Trump’s influence on European military spending, noting unprecedented financial commitments from alliance members. Rutte praised Trump’s impact, citing dramatic increases in defense expenditures across Europe.
🇺🇸 President Trump meets with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte @SecGenNATO, in the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/P1KlofnxZW
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 13, 2025
“You basically originated the fact that in Europe we are now spending, when you take it in aggregate $700 billion more in defense than when you came in office in 2016 and 2017. But that was Trump 45,” Rutte said.
“When you look at Trump 47, what’s happened in the last couple of weeks is really staggering. The Europeans are committing to a package of $800 billion in defense spending. The Germans now potentially up to half-a-trillion extra in defense spending. And of course, you had [UK Prime Minister] Keir Starmer here, the British prime minister, and others, all committing to much higher defense spending.”
Trump reflected on his previous tenure, describing how he pressured NATO members to increase their defense budgets to 2% of GDP, a threshold he now suggests should be raised to 5%. He explained his approach to securing these commitments.
“I was able to raise hundreds of billions of dollars. I just said, ‘We’re not going to be involved with you if you’re not going to pay.’ And the money started pouring in. And NATO became much stronger because of my actions,” Trump recounted of his first term.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says Trump has delivered "staggering" results for NATO:
"The Europeans [committed] to $800 billion. The Germans, potentially up to half a trillion in defense spending."
Everyone "is committing to much higher defense spending … to have a NATO… pic.twitter.com/AoGMgjk656
— The Washington Observer (@WashObserver) March 13, 2025
“I said, ‘No, I won’t protect if you’re not paying, if you’re delinquent or if the money isn’t paid, why would we do that?’ And as soon as I said that, I got a little hit from the press, because they said, ‘Oh, gee, that’s not very nice,’ but if you said the other, nobody would have paid.”
The meeting highlighted a united stance on NATO’s significance, particularly as the alliance continues supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Trump concluded by emphasizing the importance of utilizing NATO’s strength wisely moving forward.
