Trump Says US Funds NATO Far More Than Others Without Commensurate Benefit

Washington - United States President Donald Trump has said his country spends far more on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) than other nations, but the US does not receive commensurate benefits.

“The United States spends vastly more money than any other country on NATO to protect them, but without getting any benefit from it,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on Thursday.

Trump stated the US had poured $999 billion into NATO over the 2014-2025 period. By comparison, the United Kingdom spent $71 billion, France contributed $66.5 billion, Italy gave $48.8 billion, and Poland provided $44.3 billion. Trump added that other allied countries, including Germany, allocated even smaller budgets.

Trump has repeatedly criticised European nations for what he considers their inadequate contributions to NATO’s defence capabilities. He also urged all NATO members to increase defence spending to the equivalent of 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

At the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2025, alliance leaders agreed on a target to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035. Of that amount, 3.5 per cent is allocated for direct defence spending, while the remaining 1.5 per cent is for security-related investments.

NATO will hold its next summit in Ankara on 7-8 July. The meeting is expected to focus on boosting defence production capacity among the alliance’s member states.