Trump credited with raising NATO defense spending target

At the NATO summit in Ankara, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump has successfully shifted the alliance’s approach to defense spending. Carney stated that Trump’s years of pressure have led member nations to accept greater financial responsibility for collective security.

Carney told reporters that countries now recognize the need to bolster their militaries in response to direct threats, specifically naming Russia as an adversary on Canada’s Arctic frontier. He relayed that he had communicated this shift directly to Trump in a phone call before the summit, stating the president was in a good mood. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte echoed the sentiment, crediting Trump with achieving a goal that had eluded multiple U.S. presidents for decades by driving a surge in European military budgets.

The alliance’s spending target was raised to 5 percent of national GDP by 2035 after Trump returned to power in 2025, more than doubling the previous 2 percent benchmark. According to Carney, Canada, which was spending about 1.4 percent of GDP on defense when his government took office, is now on track to reach 4 percent before the end of...