Trump at NATO: Here's What You Need to Know

It seems odd to contemplate that, after one full term from 2017 to 2021, and five months into his second term, President Donald Trump appears to be hitting his stride. His second term has been much different than his first; he's gone from bull in a china shop to straight-up bulldozer, plowing over anything in his way. One way or another, he's getting things done.

This seems to be apparent to NATO's Secretary General. President Trump is in The Hague now, and NATO members are forming a line to praise his destruction of Iran's nuclear capacity - and to pledge to spend more on their defense. To which I can only say, it's about damn time.

During that meeting, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, sang the president's praises to all:

🚨 @SecGenNATO: "For too long, one ally, the United States, carried too much of the burden of that commitment — and that changes today. President Trump — dear Donald — you made this change possible... we will produce trillions more for our common defense to make us stronger and… pic.twitter.com/qK5yT0cUdE
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 25, 2025

The Secretary General said:

For too long, one ally, the United States, carried too much of the burden of that commitment, and that changes today. President Trump, dear Donald, you made this change possible. Your leadership on this, has already produced one trillion in excess spending from our European allies since 2016. And these issues today, will produce trillions more for our common defense to make us stronger, and fairer by equalizing spending between America and America's allies.

The spending issue was a hot-button issue of the president's first term, with many NATO nations not even approaching that modest goal of two percent of GDP spent on defense. These allies have been essentially sheltering under America's defensive umbrella. President Trump has been talking about increasing that goal to five percent, which, in light of recent events in Eastern Europe, really doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Later, the Secretary General spoke again about our president:

.@SecGenNATO: I think @POTUS is a good friend, and when he is doing stuff... when it comes to [member nations] making more investments — would you ever think that this would be the result of this summit if he had not been re-elected president?... Doesn't he deserve some praise? pic.twitter.com/DTJsaDwHlk
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 25, 2025

He said:

I think he's a good friend. And, I think when he is doing stuff, which is forcing us to, for example when it comes to making more investments, I mean, did you ever think that this would be the result of this summit, if he had not been re-elected president? Do you really think that seven or eight countries would suggest somewhere in the 2030s we might meet the 2 percent? We've all resigned (unclear) within the last few months to get to 2 percent? Doesn't he deserve some praise?
And when it comes to Iran, the fact that he took this decisive action, very targeted, to make sure that Iran would not be able to get its hands on a nuclear capability. I think he deserves all the praise.

In other words, it's a new day in The Hague.

Trump Shares Incredible Message From NATO Secretary General

This seems to be the key takeaway from this NATO summit. The old Cold War-era alliance is changing, just as the world changes around it. New tensions are arising, the likes of which remind us of the late 1930s, and Europe is beset with economic and demographic challenges; the main chance they have for survival is to look to their own defense. President Trump is pushing them to do that.

I'm still not completely convinced Europe, as we know it, will survive the next couple of generations. Their demographic problems are as serious as their military shortcomings; in fact, they are probably more so. They are being taken over from without, and many of the nations seem to lack any heart for contesting their conquest. But there are some glimmerings of, if not hope, at least reality, in The Hague this week.

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

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