President Donald Trump and his national security team wasted no time before celebrating their achievements at the annual NATO summit in The Hague. After years of underspending on defense and pressure from Trump administration officials, America’s European allies agreed to raise their defense budgets to 5% of GDP by 2035 at the latest.
Trump is quite pleased with the result and what he describes as his instrumental role in bringing it about. “In a very historic milestone this week, the NATO Allies committed to dramatically increase their defense spending to that 5% of GDP, something that no one really thought possible,” Trump proclaimed during a press conference after the summit concluded. “And they said: you did it, sir, you did it.”
Yet Trump should hold off on declaring victory. Getting allies to spend more money on their own defense is important, but it falls far short of Trump’s promise to reduce U.S. military commitments abroad. Bigger defense budgets from NATO allies mean little strategically for Washington if they aren’t paired with a reduction in U.S. security responsibilities on the Continent. If Trump really hopes to achieve the burden shifting he has called for, Washington must take real steps toward retrenchment by bringing home U.S. forces and putting NATO leadership positions in allied hands.
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