NATO states' increased defense spending in recent years has little to do with Trump, experts told BI.
NATO spending has indeed accelerated since Trump entered politics.
It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do itTrump's demands of NATO allies also weren't a departure from existing US policy.
Threatening partners is "bananas"Trump's transactional take on NATO collective defense is ultimately reasonable, Bury said — but encouraging other countries to attack NATO allies is "bananas."
AdvertisementIf US allies are spending more money on NATO defense, it's not because Trump is goading them, but because they're concerned about increasing global instability.
Persons:
Trump, it's, —, Kaja Kallas, Mark Rutte, Edward Hunter Christie, Hunter Christie, William Alberque, Russia hadn't, hadn't, Alberque, Patrick Bury, Barack Obama, didn't, Joe Biden, Bury, Vladimir Putin
Organizations:
NATO, Trump, Service, Estonia's, Dutch, Finnish Institute of International Affairs, International Institute for Strategic Studies, UK's University of Bath
Locations:
Russia, ”, NATO, Crimea, Trump, South Korea, Japan, United States, Ukraine