Behind closed doors, Trump became more vocal with his fellow leaders, according to two people in the room. He praised Poland, Germany and the Baltics for increasing their defense spending. Although he complained again about some countries spending too little money, he did not mention Spain and was silent on Greenland.
Trump put his own spin on the trend. “If you could see respect and love in the room, and it is true love for the country, for our country,” he said after the meeting. “But they love it, they love the work I’m doing. They said, ‘We love you, sir, we love you.’ These are adults saying that, isn’t it nice?”
But the key to the change in tone from other coalitions was less a desire to please Trump and more a growing confidence in their own abilities.
Europe stands
While insisting on the importance of transatlantic bonds in a meeting of leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that high spending on defense was in Europe’s interests, one of the people mentioned above said.
“Trump’s speeches … have made us understand that it would also be good to be independent,” said Luxembourg’s Bettel. “We want to give ourselves a way, but if this is about keeping and calming – no, that’s not why I’m here.”
Ed Arnold, a senior fellow at the Royal Alliance Services Institute and a former NATO official, said high spending on allies is making the US less powerful.
