Trump claims successful NATO Summit in Brussels
- 6 years ago
U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed the NATO Summit as a success, saying members were committed to paying more for the alliance's defense.
However, some allies cast doubt over his claims….
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… a bombastic end to the two-day summit in Brussels…
That's right Mark… the past two days saw President Trump give a mixture of jibes and praise towards NATO members.
But in the end he left satisfied.
Trump told a press conference on Thursday that all NATO members agreed to increase their defense spending after he told them he was "extremely unhappy."
The day before, he suggested NATO allies double their military spending to four percent of their GDP, saying the U.S. was paying that much.
NATO figures show America spent 3.5 percent this year.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO if burden-sharing was not improved.
When asked if that threat still stands, President Trump said he could, but no longer saw the need.
"I think I probably can, but that's unnecessary and the people have stepped up today like they've never stepped up before. And remember the word thirty-three-billion- dollars more they're paying and you'll hear that from the secretary-general in a little while. He thanked me actually…."
However, some NATO members cast doubt on Trump's claims that they had pledged to "substantially" raise their defense budgets.
They said they simply agreed to a 2014 deal to spend two percent of their GDP by the year 2024.
However, NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg did note that President Trump's rhetoric did create a new sense of urgency.
However, some allies cast doubt over his claims….
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… a bombastic end to the two-day summit in Brussels…
That's right Mark… the past two days saw President Trump give a mixture of jibes and praise towards NATO members.
But in the end he left satisfied.
Trump told a press conference on Thursday that all NATO members agreed to increase their defense spending after he told them he was "extremely unhappy."
The day before, he suggested NATO allies double their military spending to four percent of their GDP, saying the U.S. was paying that much.
NATO figures show America spent 3.5 percent this year.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO if burden-sharing was not improved.
When asked if that threat still stands, President Trump said he could, but no longer saw the need.
"I think I probably can, but that's unnecessary and the people have stepped up today like they've never stepped up before. And remember the word thirty-three-billion- dollars more they're paying and you'll hear that from the secretary-general in a little while. He thanked me actually…."
However, some NATO members cast doubt on Trump's claims that they had pledged to "substantially" raise their defense budgets.
They said they simply agreed to a 2014 deal to spend two percent of their GDP by the year 2024.
However, NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg did note that President Trump's rhetoric did create a new sense of urgency.