Editorial: Trump’s European tough-love approach pays dividends

Critics have lambasted President Donald Trump s tough-love approach to Europe but the president secured a major triumph last week when NATO members agreed to devote more tools to their own defense The turnabout is long overdue During his first term Trump blasted members of the alliance for relying too much on the contributions of the United States As the president s second term unfolds NATO members have awakened to the reality that their reluctance to take more responsibility for their own defense made them increasingly vulnerable During Trump s first term plenty of Europeans assumed it was a parenthesis and maintained the traditional transatlanticism was back forever when Joe Biden was elected Camille Grand a NATO assistant secretary-general during Trump s first term narrated The Washington Post Now that Trump is back in the White House Europeans are coming to grips with the fact that there are permanent changes in the United States approach to European precaution As a outcome and amid pressure from Trump NATO s member countries meeting last week in the Netherlands pledged to boost defense spending in coming years to of gross domestic product up from the current target of This is exactly what Trump has been demanding over the past several years CNN stated NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte noted that the larger financial commitment will upshot in a fivefold increase in air defense capabilities thousands more tanks and armored vehicles and millions of rounds of artillery ammunition as a means of improving Europe s defense The concessions vindicated Trump s approach and garnered his enthusiastic approval I watched the heads of these countries get up and the love and the passion that they indicated for their country was unbelievable I ve never seen anything like it Trump commented after the meetings It was great And I left here differently I left here saying that these people really love their countries It s not a rip-off and we re here to help them protect their country The NATO alliance has served the West well for nearly eight decades helping the United States and Europe weather Cold War tensions But Europeans had devolved into complacency when it came to protecting their borders preferring instead to panhandle from American taxpayers rather than divert materials from their fast-growing welfare states NATO s newfound financial commitment sends a major message to Russia s Vladimir Putin and China s Xi Jinping while strengthening a vital alliance among Western nations Credit to Trump for pulling it off Las Vegas Review-Journal Tribune News Function Editorial cartoon by Steve Kelley Creators Syndicate