US President says Washington bears a disproportionate share of the alliance’s financial burden ahead of key summit….reports Asian Lite News Desk
US President Donald Trump has once again criticised NATO allies over defence spending, saying the United States shoulders a disproportionate share of the alliance’s financial burden while receiving little in return.
In a post on Truth Social ahead of a key NATO summit, Trump said the US had spent nearly USD 999 billion on NATO between 2014 and 2025, far exceeding the contributions of other member countries.
“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, describing the current burden-sharing arrangement as “ridiculous.”
Trump also cited the defence spending of several NATO members, including the United Kingdom (USD 90.5 billion), France (USD 66.5 billion), Italy (USD 48.8 billion) and Poland (USD 44.3 billion). He claimed that some other major allies, including Germany, were contributing significantly less, although he did not specify the source of the figures.
The remarks are consistent with Trump’s longstanding criticism that European NATO members rely too heavily on US military capabilities and should contribute more towards the alliance’s collective defence.
His comments come as NATO leaders prepare to discuss defence spending and military readiness amid heightened security challenges in Europe and growing uncertainty over the alliance’s future strategic priorities.
For years, NATO has urged member states to allocate at least two per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to defence, a benchmark Trump has repeatedly cited while calling for greater burden-sharing among allies.
