NATO Faces Pressure to Increase Defense Spending NATO is under renewed scrutiny following U.S. President Donald Trump’s sharp demands for increased defense contributions from European allies. Trump’s call for fairer burden-sharing has reignited debates on financial commitments,

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was not sure the United States should be spending anything on NATO, telling reporters the U.S. was protecting NATO members, but they were "not protecting us.

Europe’s military heavyweights have already said that meeting President Donald Trump’s potential challenge to spend up to 5% of their economic output on security would be challenging

The return of Trump will once again put European defense spending levels at the center of the United States’ approach to NATO. Over the past several years, NATO members have boosted investments, with about 20 out of 32 members hitting the alliance’s benchmark of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense.

Germany met NATO's target to spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defence in 2024, the government said on Monday, though well short of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's call for as much as 5%.

Ralf Stegner, a member of Germany's Social Democratic Party, called Trump's comments "delusional and truly insane." Poland has backed Trump's demand.