U.S. President Donald Trump and fellow NATO leaders will meet Tuesday for a summit that could either reinforce unity with a new defense spending agreement or deepen rifts among the alliance’s 32 member states.
Just a week ago, things had seemed rosy. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was optimistic that the European members and Canada would commit to invest at least as much of their economic growth on defense as the United States does for the first time.
Then Spain rejected the new NATO target for each country to spend 5% of its gross domestic product on defense needs, calling it "unreasonable." Trump also insists on that figure. The alliance operates on a consensus that requires the backing of all 32 members.
The following day, Trump said the U.S. should not have to respect the goal.
"I don't think we should, but I think they should," he said. Trump lashed out at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government, saying: "NATO is going to have to deal with Spain. Spain's been a very low payer." He also criticized Canada as "a low payer."
