Frustrations about Trump’s stance on trade toward Europe still boiled over at times, with French President Emmanuel Macron remarking on the incongruity of the U.S. demanding that allies spend more on defense while squeezing their economies with tariffs. Similarly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vented about trade talks between Washington and Brussels, stating that they’re “too complicated.”
But those notes of discord were largely drowned out by the striking harmony of this streamlined summit.
To get Trump to learn to love NATO, allies had to make some sacrifices. The summit’s final communiqué was just five paragraphs, down from 38 last year. Ukraine, which got pledges of billions of dollars in aid from NATO nations and an affirmation that its path into the alliance was “irreversible” at the Washington summit in 2024, was a mere footnote.
But NATO leaders also promised to incorporate military aid for Ukraine into their defense budgets, which both solidifies help for Kyiv while goosing the European push toward spending 5 percent of their GDP on defense, a number demanded by Trump.
The president appears to be fine with that tactic, leading some allies to see the 5 percent as the goal, with the messy details less of a concern.
“We’re getting there. Countries are being creative in addressing the issue. Without infrastructure and investment in industry, militaries can’t do what they need to do,” a second European official said.