Foreign Affairs

Source: Politico

Trump casts doubt on NATO security agreement: ‘If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them’

The president signaled that he would consider abandoning a key part of the NATO security pact if members don’t spend more on defense.

By Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing

03/06/2025 06:20 PM EST

Updated: 03/06/2025 07:21 PM EST

President Donald Trump cast doubt Thursday on a core tenet of the NATO security alliance — that an attack on one member is an attack on all and must draw a response.

Trump, speaking to reporters during a bill signing in the Oval Office, said he would reconsider the U.S. commitment to the security pact if members in the 32-nation alliance do not increase defense spending as he has repeatedly demanded.

“Well, I think it’s common sense,” Trump said. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”

His remarks appeared to be an escalation of the anti-NATO rhetoric that was a feature of Trump’s first term and helped inspire a law passed in 2023 and signed by President Joe Biden that requires either two-thirds Senate approval or an act of Congress for the U.S. to exit the alliance.

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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/06/trump-nato-security-agreement-00216984