BRUSSELS -- President Trump touched down in Brussels Tuesday afternoon ahead of a potentially contentious NATO summit where he's expected to push member nations to spend more on defense. So far this year, only five out of 29 NATO countries, including the U.S., spent 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, the NATO standard. The president has lashed out at countries that fall short. On Tuesday, European Council President Donald Tusk urged Mr. Trump to soften his rhetoric. US President Donald Trump (R) and US First Lady Melania Trump disembark from Air Force One as they arrive at Melsbroek Air Base in Haachtsesteenweg on July 10, 2018. Benoit Doppagne / AFP/Getty Images "Dear America, appreciate your allies. After all, you don't have that many. And dear Europe, spend more on your defense," he said. NATO allies are trying to minimize discord before the president's first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week. "Frankly Putin might be easiest of them all. Who would think," the president said. Despite Russia's aggressive moves in Ukraine and confirmed election meddling in the U.S., the president wouldn't say if Putin was friend or foe. "I really can't say right now. As far as I'm concerned, a competitor, a competitor," he said. In between the NATO and Putin summits, the president will stop in London. He appeared to take a jab at Prime Minister Theresa May by praising her recently resigned Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. "Boris Johnson's a friend of mine. He's been very, very nice to me. Very supportive and I maybe will speak to him when I get over there," the president said.<doc-sep>At roughly the same time every year, the world’s oldest military alliance assembles in Brussels to reaffirm its unity, strength, and resolve. The annual North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meetings are typically an opportunity for member states to take stock of the most pressing international security issues of the day. The event is largely a highly choreographed and antiseptic affair; after two days of conversation and the crafting of a lengthy joint communique, the delegations get on their planes and fly back home. Needless to say, President Trump has shaken that routine. In more conventional times, European heads-of-state and NATO officials would be eagerly awaiting the transatlantic reunion rather than biting their nails wondering what the U.S. president may say or do during the summit. But, alas, Trump—a man who once called NATO an “obsolete” relic of the Cold War and who takes joy at scolding Washington’s European partners for lackluster military spending—is the human antonym for conventionality. Trump, of course, has since amended his description of NATO as obsolete. It is, after all, still an operational military alliance that continues to send troops to Afghanistan. Yet it would be highly unwise for members of the alliance to discount what Trump has to say. While NATO is not at risk of extinction, it finds itself at a critical inflection point in its nearly 70-year history. Continuing with a business-as-usual is not an option.<doc-sep>President Donald Trump is flying out to Belgium on Tuesday for two days of NATO meetings, and if member states — and U.S. allies — were under the impression that he might be rethinking the antagonistic strategy he unleashed during June’s G7 summit in Italy, they can forget it. While NATO members (North Atlantic Treaty Organization — a military alliance of 29 countries) are hoping to build bridges, that’s about as likely as Trump playing a few holes of gold in Tehran next Labor Day. Exhibit A: President Trump started his Monday morning with some bright-and-early tweets lashing out at our security partners: The United States is spending far more on NATO than any other Country. This is not fair, nor is it acceptable. While these countries have been increasing their contributions since I took office, they must do much more. Germany is at 1%, the U.S. is at 4%, and NATO benefits……. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2018 …Europe far more than it does the U.S. By some accounts, the U.S. is paying for 90% of NATO, with many countries nowhere close to their 2% commitment. On top of this the European Union has a Trade Surplus of $151 Million with the U.S., with big Trade Barriers on U.S. goods. NO! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2018 Exhibit B: He has, in no way, departed from his earlier messages to NATO countries, repeating what he’s said in the past and in letters he reportedly sent to several European governments, as well as Canada, pushing them to increase their spending in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Advertisement So everyone knows what to expect come Wednesday and Thursday, when Trump and his NATO Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison (who thinks the president is hitting it out of the park, of course) will join our global security allies. James Goldgeier, professor at the School of International Service at American University, said that President Trump is correct to complain that NATO partners should be spending more on their own security– this is a view held by former presidents. But Trump’s “obsession with it, the constant harping on it, and the exclusive focus on it — that’s pretty new,” said Goldgeier. “He has this general view that America’s allies have been taking advantage of it, and that all of these arrangements are what he likes to call ‘bad deals.’ Apparently at the G7 summit, he told our partners that NATO was as bad as NAFTA,” said Goldgeier, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement Trump wants to terminate. Much ado about 2 percent Here’s the thing, though: The 2 percent to which President Trump is referring in his tweets Monday is not a reflection of NATO spending, nor it is some kind of compulsory due. It reflects the the percentage of each country’s national defense budgets and nothing else. Bumping defense spending up to to 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) is a goal that NATO members have until 2024 to meet. For context, the United States spends a massive amount on defense — 3.61 percent of our 2016 GDP was dedicated to it. Advertisement Although defense spending by other NATO countries has risen since Trump became president, this “harping,” to use the professor’s words, probably won’t work out as the president would like it to. It might even backfire. “The challenge for any leaders — especially the way he’s criticized people like Chancellor [Angela] Merkel of Germany or Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau of Canada — is that they can’t look like they’re doing what they’re doing because he’s bullying them,” said Goldgeier. They might want to increase spending for their own reasons, but they can’t do it in a way that it looks like they’re responding to Trump. In other words, Merkel can’t afford to have Trump toss any more Starburst candies at her without losing credibility with her domestic base. “Even if they hit 2 percent, I don’t think it would matter….he just isn’t interested in the whole alliance relationship,” said Goldgeier. This disdain for U.S. allies is essentially the beating heart of much of Trump’s foreign policy, it seems. “Prior presidents saw America’s allies as enhancing U.S. power and really enabling the United States in being the global leader that it has been for so long, especially compared to China and Russia, which have very few allies,” said Goldgeier. Advertisement “Instead of viewing it that way, he views it as ‘The U.S. has been played’…and it’s always this ‘They’re laughing at us,'” he added. But just as Trump is accusing allies of trying to play him for the fool, many believe that’s exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are doing. Trump will meet with Putin next week, and met with Kim at the incredibly weird summit in Singapore in June. “He’s mainly worried about our allies taking advantage of us. But he seems to have a thing for authoritarian rulers,” said Goldgeier, who expects Trump to come out of his meeting with Putin touting a great relationship (as he did with Kim — although the North Korean leader’s weekend meeting with Secretary of Sate Mike Pompeo yielded disastrous optics). How can Trump harm NATO? As much as the president hates NATO, he can’t just pull out of it. First off, as the name implies, it’s a Senate-ratified treaty, so, unlike the Iran nuclear deal or the Paris Climate Accord, President Trump can’t just walk away from NATO. And pulling out won’t have much support in his administration or among lawmakers. “Secretary of Defense [James] Mattis is supportive of NATO, the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, is very supportive. Other parts of the government, the public, have always been supportive of NATO. It has bipartisan support on the hill,” said Goldgeier. “It really is just Trump. The hard part for the Europeans to figure out is, ‘okay, at what point will his hatred of allies and NATO mean a change in America’s policy? '” he added.<doc-sep>The president of the European Council has warned Donald Trump that he should appreciate his allies, following sustained criticism of Europe by the US president. Speaking on the eve of a major Nato summit in Brussels, Donald Tusk warned Mr Trump that he was isolated on the world stage and suggested he should think twice before criticising the EU. “Dear America, appreciate your allies, after all you don’t have that many,” Mr Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, said after signing a statement on defence cooperation between the European Union and Nato. He added that “for a long time now” Mr Trump has been criticising Europe almost daily for, in his view, insufficient contributions to the common defence capabilities, and for living off the US. Addressing the president directly, he said: “Dear President Trump: America does not have, and will not have, a better ally than Europe. “Today, Europeans spend on defence many times more than Russia, and as much as China. “And I think you can have no doubt, Mr President, that this is an investment in common American and European defence and security. Which can’t be said with confidence about Russian or Chinese spending.” Mr Tusk, a representative for EU national leaders collectively on the world stage, has previously warned member states they should prepare for “worst-case scenarios” with Mr Trump leading the United States. Appreciate your allies, after all you don’t have that many Donald Tusk, European Council president The US president has imposed trade tariffs on the EU and previously threatened to withdraw US military protection from parts of Europe, arguing that European countries should fund more of their own defence. The EU has hit back with new tariffs of its own against US goods. EU officials say Mr Tusk privately believes Mr Trump is “dangerous” and that his policy represents a new American doctrine without fixed friends or enemies. ‘Europeans spend on defence many times more than Russia, and as much as China,’ Tusk says (PA) Mr Trump is travelling to Brussels today for the Nato meeting, which is also being attended by leaders like Theresa May and Angela Merkel. Ahead of his visit, he tweeted: “Getting ready to leave for Europe. First meeting – Nato. The US is spending many times more than any other country in order to protect them. “Not fair to the US taxpayer. On top of that we lose $151bn on trade with the European Union. Charge us big tariffs (and barriers)!” Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office.<doc-sep>
President Trump SLAMS Europe over NATO payments The US President laid into his allies over their military spending on the eve of the NATO summit, which is likely to raise concerns about the future of the 28-member coalition. Donald Trump has repeatedly hinted he may withdraw US support for NATO altogether, calling it obsolete and a waste of American taxpayers’ dollars. He said many countries were “nowhere close” to their commitment to spend two percent of GDP own defence. Writing on Twitter, he said: “The United States is spending far more on NATO than any other Country. This is not fair, nor is it acceptable. Donald Trump has sent a warning to EU leaders ahead of a crunch NATO summit in Brussels “While these countries have been increasing their contributions since I took office, they must do much more. "Germany is at one percent, the US is at four percent, and NATO benefits.” He also again attacked Brussels for having a trade surplus with the US adding “big Trade Barriers on US goods. NO!” Germany is also under pressure from Mr Trump to pay its fair share as, according to NATO statistics, it only spends 1.2 percent of GDP on defence - considerably less than the two percent mutually agreed by the alliance’s member states. 11 things you need to know about NATO Tue, February 14, 2017 NATO - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4th April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 11 Every member country, no matter how large or small, has an equal say in discussions and decisions. Photo shows: Signing the North Atlantic Treaty which marked the beginning of NATO, 1949. The United States is spending far more on NATO than any other Country. This is not fair, nor is it acceptable Donald Trump The Republican firebrand leader added: “Europe far more than it does the US By some accounts, the US is paying for 90% of NATO, with many countries nowhere close to their two percent commitment. “On top of this the European Union has a Trade Surplus of $151 Million with the U.S., with big Trade Barriers on US goods. NO!” The strongly-worded rant is the latest criticism of NATO by Mr Trump and will set the ball rolling for a tense showdown with EU leaders on Wednesday. The defence alliance already relies heavily on Washington for around three-quarters of its funding. Donald Trump's threats raise concerns over the future of NATO Donald Trump will join EU leaders in Brussels for a NATO summit on Wednesday