Trump flips tone at NATO summit

Donald Trump closed the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8 with a markedly different tone from the one he used earlier in the gathering. After spending much of the summit berating allies over defense spending, Iran and Greenland, Trump said at the end that there had been “a lot of unity” and “tremendous love” from other leaders. Reuters reported that the shift followed a day in which Trump had thrown the meeting into disarray in public but later eased his language. NATO itself declared the summit concluded with alliance commitments intact. ### What did Trump say in public before changing tone? Ankara was the setting for Trump’s sharpest public attacks on allies during the summit’s final day. Reuters reported that he called Spain a “terrible partner” in NATO, said he wanted the United States to cut trade ties with Madrid and renewed claims on Greenland while also declaring the ceasefire with Iran to be over. The summit ran on July 7-8 in the Turkish capital, according to NATO’s official event page. European leaders had arrived hoping to keep the focus on alliance defense plans, but Trump’s remarks shifted attention back to disputes over burden-sharing and U.S. demands of allies. ### What changed by the time the summit ended? Trump’s closing message was more conciliatory. (al-monitor.com) Reuters reported that he later said there had been love and “a lot of unity,” a contrast with his earlier criticism of Spain and his renewed pressure over Greenland. Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary-general, said after the summit that allies had reaffirmed their commitment to collective defense under Article 5 and that the message from Ankara was that “NATO delivers.” NATO said the summit ended with new defense investment goals, more industrial commitments and renewed support for Ukraine. (nato.int) (al-monitor.com) ### Did the private meetings look different from the public spectacle? Politico reported, as cited in the source briefing, that Trump’s public browbeating gave way to a calmer tone in private meetings with allies and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Those reports said the closed-door conversations helped the summit avoid a formal rupture even after Trump’s public attacks. (nato.int) Associated Press reporting from Ankara also showed Trump meeting Zelenskyy on the sidelines while the summit continued to produce formal alliance business, including discussions on Ukraine and defense production. ### Why were Spain, Britain and Greenland part of the dispute? (al-monitor.com) Spain was the clearest target of Trump’s public criticism on July 8. Reuters said he accused Madrid of failing to contribute enough and told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt trade with Spain. The broader argument was not limited to Spain. The source briefing, drawing on contemporaneous coverage from The Guardian and The New York Times, said Trump also renewed his demand over Greenland and criticized Britain during the summit, adding to allied concern about how many issues he was willing to tie to NATO discussions at once. (clickondetroit.com) Those reports described a summit in which disputes over defense spending, Iran, Ukraine and territorial claims were all present at the same time. (al-monitor.com) ### What, formally, came out of the summit anyway? NATO said on July 8 that allies were moving toward spending 5% of GDP on defense and security by 2035, with total defense and security spending already around 4% one year into that effort. The alliance also announced more than 50 billion euros in new procurement deals, a 40 billion U.S. dollar counter-drone initiative over five years and at least 70 billion euros in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine this year and next year. (al-monitor.com) Those commitments are the concrete record of the summit, regardless of Trump’s shifting rhetoric. NATO’s summit page says Ankara’s outcomes are now in the implementation phase, with follow-through to be tracked through the alliance’s official post-summit materials and future ministerial meetings. (nato.int 1) (nato.int 2)