President Donald Trump has expressed his support for the collective defense offered by NATO in a reversal of his previous criticism of the alliance.
Trump was asked by the BBC whether he still thought the alliance was “obsolete” as he had previously said, and replied: “NATO is now becoming the opposite of that.” He added that members of the alliance were now “paying their own bills.”
The president had called on NATO’s European members to increase their defense spending and pay a larger share of the alliance’s budget.
Newsweek has contacted NATO for comment.
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Why It Matters
No fan of multilateralism, Trump had repeatedly cast doubt on the U.S. role within NATO.
He hinted the U.S. would pull out of the bloc and said that he would “encourage” Russia to attack any member that failed to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense.
But Trump’s comments show him warming to the alliance, following a summit in June in which members pledged to spend more, and the U.S. president’s increasingly strident criticism of Vladimir Putin, considered NATO’s biggest threat.
What To Know
Trump told the BBC in an interview that he believed in collective defense, because it meant smaller countries could defend themselves against larger ones.
Trump has previously criticized NATO as “obsolete” but when asked if he still thought this was the case, he replied it was becoming the opposite of that because members were spending more on defense.
Trump had told a rally in South Carolina in February 2024 that the U.S. would not protect NATO members that did not pay enough, prompting the former head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, to say this put European and American troops at risk.
Trump’s latest comments follow a NATO summit in the Netherlands in June, where he received a warm reception from the current alliance chief Mark Rutte, who is in Washington this week to meet with the U.S. president and officials.
Trump has announced a preliminary agreement with NATO countries allowing them to purchase U.S.-made weapons and send them to Ukraine.
Rutte said Monday NATO will cover the cost of U.S-produced weapons for Ukraine, with European members of the bloc confirming their growing role in supporting Ukraine, according Ukrainian outlet Ukrinform.
The war Putin started was one focus of the BBC interview, which came after Trump announced plans to send weapons to Ukraine and warned of severe tariffs on Russia if there was no ceasefire within 50 days.
Trump said he thought he had managed to agree a deal with Putin on four occcasions, adding that he was “disappointed in him.”
George Beebe, director of grand strategy at think tank the Quincy Institute, told Newsweek that Trump’s announcements of U.S. military assistance for NATO to help Ukraine, as well as possible new tariffs against those purchasing Russian energy, showed White House frustration that Putin had refused an immediate ceasefire.
But the new measures “are highly unlikely to coerce Moscow into agreeing to a ceasefire,” added Beebe, a former director of the CIA‘s Russia analysis.
This was because Russia was convinced this would leave key issues unaddressed that are vital to Russian security—guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO, will not host NATO forces, and will not be equipped with weapons that can strike deep into Russia, added Beebe.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump was asked by the BBC if he still thought NATO was “obsolete,” replying: “No. I think NATO is now becoming the opposite of that” adding the bloc was “paying their own bills.”
On Putin, Trump said: “I’m disappointed in him, but I’m not done with him. But I’m disappointed in him.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday: “You [President Trump] called me on Thursday and said that you had taken a decision. The decision is that you want Ukraine to have what it needs, to be able to defend itself against Russia.”
What Happens Next
There will be anticipation over the 50-day deadline Trump has set Putin for a ceasefire, as well as when additional missiles for Patriot air defense systems and other U.S. made weapons will arrive in Ukraine, as the president has pledged.
