US President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on transatlantic allies ahead of a highly anticipated NATO summit, accusing them of underfunding the alliance while the United States shoulders a disproportionate financial burden. In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump asserted that Washington receives minimal returns for its outsized contributions.
Trump highlights US spending disparity
Trump stated that the United States spent USD 999 billion on NATO between 2014 and 2025, a figure that significantly exceeds the expenditures of other prominent member states. He characterized the current financial arrangements as highly unfair and labelled the defence burden as "ridiculous."
"The United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing," Trump wrote in his social media post.
Breakdown of alliance contributions
Providing a comparative breakdown of contributions, Trump listed the defence spending of major European powers: the United Kingdom at USD 90.5 billion, France at USD 66.5 billion, Italy at USD 48.8 billion, and Poland at USD 44.3 billion. He also noted that other key allies, including Germany, were contributing "much lower" amounts, though he did not specify the exact source of the compiled metrics.
Consistent pressure on European allies
Throughout his tenure, Trump has consistently accused European NATO members of over-reliance on American military hardware and strategic support, while pushing them to increase their domestic defence allocations. The latest criticism comes amid volatile security conditions across Europe and uncertainty regarding Washington's long-term geopolitical commitments to the treaty.
NATO member states have been urged for years to dedicate at least two per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to defence expenditure, a benchmark Trump has frequently cited while demanding equitable burden-sharing from international partners.
