How Trump is turning NATO into a cash machine

Key Points:

• President Trump has shifted NATO's focus from shared democratic values to a transactional, business-oriented alliance, emphasizing increased European defense spending and purchases of American arms, particularly for Ukraine.
• At the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, the U.S. aims to push European allies to further boost defense production and reduce regulatory barriers, while opposing protectionist measures in European defense initiatives.
• European NATO members have increased their defense spending significantly, with nearly $120 billion committed last year and half spent on American-made equipment, partly in response to Trump's demand to raise spending from 2% to 5% of GDP.
• This transactional approach has strained traditional NATO bonds, with concerns rising over U.S. commitment to European security amid troop withdrawals and mixed signals on support for Ukraine and defense strategies.
• U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has criticized Europe's defense culture and called for a more robust military alliance capable of independently deterring threats, signaling a potential reevaluation of the U.S. military presence in Europe.