Throughout his Presidential campaign, Donald Trump has been critical of NATO, calling it obsolete and unfair. He said that NATO agenda does not include fighting against terrorism and many of its members are not keeping to its commitments of 2 percent GDP contribution. While President Trump’s criticisms have prompted many European nations to verbally commit to the 2 percent GDP goal, in reality, things look a lot different and difficult.
Last Friday, German chancellor Angela Merkel and the US President Donald Trump held a meeting as well as a joint press conference. During the Press conference, President Trump vowed commitment to NATO but once again said that every country would need to pay their fair share. Ms. Merkel acknowledged the idea and said that Germany recently boosted its military spending by 8 percent but also pointed out that Germany will not reach the 2 percent goal until 2024. President Trump probably didn’t like the idea and took to the twitter after the meeting was over. He tweeted the following, “Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes..... ...vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”
After President Trump’s tweet, German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen rejected the above claims by saying that there are no debt accounts with NATO by questioning how military spending was calculated arguing that country's financial commitment to the military alliance shouldn't be the only measure. She added that NATO spending should not be the only criteria used to measure Germany's military efforts, as efforts are also put to its U.N. peacekeeping efforts in several countries and participation in the US-led fight against the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group.
Making Germany pay would be vital for Trump to keep his commitments as it serves as a model for other countries in the region. This looks like a beginning of a very long feud.
