Trump is ‘right’: Rutte says NATO members need to spend more on arms
Trump himself even suggested in 2018 that NATO members should double their contribution, to 4 percent of GDP.
"We will have to spend more ... It will be much more than the 2 percent. I’m clear about that," Mark Rutte said on arrival at the European Political Community summit in Budapest on Thursday. | Szilárd Koszticsák/EPA-EFE
November 7, 2024 1:29 pm CET
By Joshua Posaner and Barbara Moens
BUDAPEST — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is seeking to start off on the right foot with Donald Trump by praising the United States president-elect's attempts to get NATO countries to spend more on defense, beyond the current 2 percent of GDP target.
"We will have to spend more ... It will be much more than the 2 percent. I’m clear about that," Rutte said on arrival at the European Political Community summit in Budapest on Thursday.
During his first term in the White House, Trump hammered European countries for not spending enough on their own defense, sponging off the U.S. for their security.
“He is right about this," Rutte said, just hours after the latter's election victory. "You will not get there with the 2 percent."
https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-is-right-mark-rutte-says-nato-members-spend-more-gdp-2-percent-european-political-community-summit/
