Nato chief is determined to give Trump a win with 5% defence spending plan
Mark Rutte is determined to give Donald Trump a win at the forthcoming Nato summit.
The alliance’s secretary general wants to avoid the scenes of 2016 when, while in his first term, the US president berated European allies for not spending enough on defence and taking advantage of the American taxpayer.
Trump views relationships, even based on collective security, as transactional.
And so at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte proposed that Nato members spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence – something Trump has openly called for.
The increase – which would more than double Nato members’ current target of spending 2% of GDP – is a big ask for many European nations.
Some may ask if such a deal would be all about deterring Russia, or – at least in part – designed to appease the president.
