Trump claims NATO nations are ‘taking advantage’ and should allocate 5% of their GDP
President-elect Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that NATO nations “were taking advantage” of the United States and ought to be funding their military defense at more than double their current contributions.
“They could all afford it, but they should aim for 5%, not 2%,” Trump said during a press conference at his beachside estate, Mar-a-Lago, referring to the contributions of member nations as a part of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In February, Trump sparked controversy when he mentioned during a campaign rally that he had told a NATO leader that if a nation had not settled its “bills,” he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want.”
On Tuesday, Trump shared this story again, identifying the leader as a “prime minister” and stating, “Well, they weren’t paying their bills. I said, ‘we’re not gonna protect you. You’re not paying the bills.’”
“I would have preferred to say ‘Yes, we’ll protect you even if you don’t pay,’” he remarked on Tuesday. “But that’s not how things work.”
The U.S. already invests 3.4% of its GDP and covers around 16% of NATO’s annual budget. Poland ranks highest, contributing 4.1% of its GDP, followed by Estonia and the U.S. at 3.4%, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
NATO members reaffirmed their commitment to the 2% guideline in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in Ukraine. However, most nations did not meet that goal. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, more countries showed willingness to invest in their own defense.
In 2024, the transatlantic alliance reached a significant achievement when all non-U.S. NATO allies met the 2% target on average for the first time. Twenty-three out of the 32 member nations plan to meet or surpass the 2% guideline, including France and Germany, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
The newly elected NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte indicated in a speech on December 12 that he shared Trump’s viewpoint. “By 2023, NATO Allies agreed to invest ‘at least’ 2%,” he declared. “I can tell you, we will need far more than 2%. If we don’t increase our spending together now to prevent war, we will end up paying a much, much higher cost later to fight it.”
