President Trump said NATO members who don’t pony up more for their share of defense spending in the alliance will be “dealt with.”
“Maybe I’ll deal with them from a trade standpoint. Maybe I’ll deal with them in a different way,” Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at a gathering of NATO leaders in London. “We don’t want to have people be delinquent.”
He said allies who “aren’t paying their way” in NATO do a disservice to the US and France.
The president, who has argued that the US contributes too much for the military alliance and has criticized other members for not paying enough, said he believes NATO has gotten financially stronger because of his efforts.
“What I’m liking about NATO is that a lot of countries have stepped up. I think, really, at my behest,” Trump said.
“They’ve stepped up and they’ve put up a lot of money. I told you it was $130 million — $130 billion, and that’s a lot. And they’re now stepping up again. It’s going to be $400 billion,” Trump continued.