Trump reassures allies as NATO agrees to ‘historic’ spending hike

US President Donald Trump took a victory lap at NATO’s Hague summit on Wednesday (Jun 25), joining leaders in reaffirming the “ironclad” commitment to protect each other after allies agreed to his demand to ramp up defence spending.
Trump secured a key foreign policy win by getting NATO’s 32 countries to agree to meet his headline target of 5 per cent of gross domestic product on defence spending.
NATO allies say the increase is needed to counter a growing threat from Russia but also to keep Trump engaged, with the US leader long complaining that Europe spends too little on its own defence.