The NATO summit in July marked a significant shift in the alliance's trajectory, according to U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. For years, President Trump has criticized European allies for relying too heavily on the United States for military defense. Whitaker believes that Trump's pressure campaign has begun to produce the alliance the president has long envisioned.
At the summit, allies agreed to boost defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, a significant increase from the alliance's long-standing 2% benchmark. Whitaker praised Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Greece, and Turkey for aggressively increasing defense spending, while identifying Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom as countries he continues to watch closely.
Whitaker pointed to nearly $150 billion in additional allied defense spending over the past year and a growing push to expand European defense production as evidence that the alliance is moving in the direction the Trump administration has long demanded. The administration believes that Europe must assume greater responsibility for its own defense, allowing the U.S. to focus more heavily on other global priorities.
Spain emerged as the administration's most public point of friction during the summit. President Trump called the country a "terrible partner" and a "wasted cause," threatened to cut off trade, and criticized Madrid for initially resisting NATO's new 5% defense spending target and for refusing to allow the U.S. to use Spanish bases and airspace during operations against Iran.
Whitaker acknowledged that rearming the continent will require years of sustained political support, expanded industrial capacity, and difficult budget decisions before the alliance reaches the capabilities envisioned in Ankara. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has repeatedly emphasized that governments must present "clear, concrete, and credible plans" for reaching the target rather than simply making political commitments.
The summit also came as the administration reviews U.S. force posture in Europe, prompting questions among allies about what greater burden-sharing could mean for the future U.S. military presence. Whitaker said allies that spend more should expect deeper engagement with Washington, but stressed that decisions on U.S. force posture are driven by broader global security considerations.
The administration argues that the force posture review is directly tied to burden-sharing: if Europe assumes more responsibility for defending the continent, Washington can reassess where and how U.S. forces are deployed. Whitaker said the debate over burden-sharing is no longer simply about how much allies spend, but rather whether those investments translate into the military capabilities Europe will need to assume a greater share of its own defense.
The summit underscored a growing emphasis on expanding defense production across the alliance. Ukraine would be permitted to establish domestic Patriot missile production, while Lockheed Martin unveiled plans to help establish a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile sustainment facility in Europe. Other agreements included expanded European production of Army Tactical Missile Systems, Stinger missiles, and additional air defense systems through partnerships between U.S. and European defense firms.
