Trump posts that allies ‘were not there for us’ during Iran war
President Donald Trump on Thursday called the U.S. relationship with NATO “ridiculous” and said the arrangement is “one sided,” writing on his Truth Social platform that allies “were not there for us” during the war in Iran.
Trump wrote that Washington’s relationship with the military alliance “is not reciprocal” and posted a chart comparing defense spending by NATO members. The chart showed the United States contributing more than several allies, including the United Kingdom and France.
“They were not there for us!!!” Trump wrote, using three exclamation points.
The comments came less than a week before NATO’s summit, scheduled for July 7–8 in Ankara, Turkey. The summit will bring together the alliance’s 32 member states.
Trump has repeatedly criticized European allies over their response to the Iran war, as several countries restricted the use of their bases for American forces. He has also insisted that Europe take the lead role in its own defense, and Washington has moved to scale back its military commitments in Europe.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in May, acknowledged the dispute. “The president’s views – frankly, disappointment – at some of our NATO allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East, they are well documented,” Rubio said. “That will have to be addressed.”
Rubio said the Ankara summit would be “one of the more important” in NATO’s 77-year history, emphasizing that the dispute would be discussed.
Under pressure from Trump, NATO leaders agreed at a summit last year to boost defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.