US President Donald Trump has called NATOโs recent summit in The Hague โgreat.โ Numerous media reports had previously claimed the two-day event was almost solely focused on pleasing the American leader.
โA wonderful day with incredible and caring Leaders,โ Trump wrote Truth Social on Thursday, pointing to the NATO membersโ latest commitment to hike defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035. He also claimed the meeting earlier this week was โthe most unified and productive in history.โ
However, not all NATO members agreed to the defense spending hike demanded by Trump. Spain reached a deal with the bloc just days before the summit that excluded it from the 5% target, according to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He had earlier branded Trumpโs demand โnot only unreasonable but also counterproductive.โ
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also said on Tuesday that his nation โis capable of meeting NATOโs requirements even without a substantial increase in defense spending to 5% of GDP.โ He also maintained that Bratislava has โother priorities in the coming years than armament.โ
The event was limited to just one working meeting lasting two and a half hours โ reportedly because of Trumpโs dislike for lengthy sessions. The summit was also solely focused on increasing the defense spending of members, one of Trumpโs key demands on the bloc.
After the meeting, the New York Times reported that the Ukraine conflict was pushed โto the sidelinesโ of the event as its organizers sought to cast all controversial topics aside. Kievโs membership ambitions โ something that used to be at the forefront of NATO discussions over the past years โ were barely mentioned at this yearโs event and not included in the final declaration.
Some European officials were also unhappy with the level of flattery used by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to win over Trump during the meeting, according to Politico. โPeople are so embarrassed,โ one official told the outlet, adding that โthe sucking up was pretty over the top.โ
Rutte reportedly called Trump โdaddyโ during the summit and sent him a gushing message praising the US attack on Iran’s nuclear sites ahead of the summit. The US president was quick to post the NATO chiefโs message online. The White House also shared a clip on social media showing Trumpโs participation in the summit and accompanied by Usherโs song โDaddyโs homeโ.
