Even before he was elected in 2016, President Trump complained that the United States bore a disproportionate amount of responsibility for security in Europe.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Europe’s advanced nations allowed their military capabilities to shrivel. Over 500,000 Germans were serving in the military when the Berlin Wall came down; the current number of active military is less than 200,000.
Europe’s population is 460,000,000, 35% larger than the United States (341,000,000.) The economies are roughly equal – the US is $30 Trillion and Europe is $28 Trillion. But the U.S. spends almost $1 Trillion annually on defense while ALL of Europe spends just $326 Billion.
It is completely unfair that European countries desperate for the US to remain in NATO do not pay their fair share to support it. It’s not that they don’t HAVE the money; European leaders have consistently chosen welfare expansion over defense spending.
When he first became President in 2016, Trump demanded that Europe pay 2% of their GDP toward defense, rightfully saying the US taxpayer should not be funding Europe’s welfare states. Few nations did anything about this demand.
What a difference a second term makes!! When NATO Heads of State met at The Hague on June 25, European nations committed to increase their share of defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Once again, President Trump protects America’s interests.