Donald Trump has once again criticised defence spending by the UK and other European allies ahead of a NATO summit, threatening to leave the alliance over what he calls a 'one-sided' relationship.
Trump's Truth Social Posts on NATO Funding
Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote: 'The United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing: US 999 Billion Dollars, United Kingdom, 90.5 Billion Dollars, France, 66.5 Billion Dollars, Italy, 48.8 Billion Dollars, Poland, 44.3 Billion Dollars. Others, including Germany, are MUCH LOWER. (2014-2025) Ridiculous!'
He also shared data related to defence spending estimates by NATO members in 2025 alone, where US funding stood at £733 billion, compared with the £455 billion of all the other members combined. He later posted: 'Ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one-sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal. They were not there for us!!! President DJT.'
UK Response and Defence Spending Plans
The UK’s top diplomat in Washington, Sir Christian Turner, said Britain had heard Trump’s call and was 'putting our money where our mouth is'. Writing in the New York Post, the British ambassador to the US said: 'President Donald Trump has been consistent, and he is correct: America’s allies must do more for their own defence and for our collective security.'
Sir Keir Starmer has already announced plans to hike defence spending by £15 billion, but Downing Street is unable to say exactly where the cuts required to pay for the increase will come from. Former defence secretary John Healey, who quit in protest at the level of extra military funding being offered, said the UK would be spending 2.7% of economic output on defence in 2030. He stressed the need to 'develop a clear, credible funding plan' to ensure the UK met its NATO commitment to spend 3.5% GDP by 2035.
Upcoming NATO Summit and Tensions
The president’s latest sabre-rattling comes ahead of next week’s meeting of NATO leaders in Ankara, Turkey. Tensions over defence funding have been further fuelled by the president’s designs on Greenland, which belongs to fellow NATO member Denmark, and the response of allies – including Britain – to the Iran war.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth last month announced a review of American military forces in Europe as he questioned if some members were meeting their spending commitments. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month the upcoming NATO summit would probably be the most important in its history, with issues 'that need to be cleared up and fixed'.
The head of US forces in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, also warned at the time there had been 'an unhealthy co-dependence' by NATO on American forces.
Ambassador's Call for Stronger Alliance
With America about to mark its 250th anniversary of independence from Britain on July 4, Sir Christian said what began as a bitter conflict had been 'forged into the deepest, closest alliance between any two nations'. 'A stronger Britain means a stronger NATO, and a stronger NATO means a more secure America,' he added.
