U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was not sure the United States should be spending anything on NATO, telling reporters the U.S. was protecting NATO members, but they were "not protecting us.

President Donald Trump said NATO countries must sharply increase their defense spending, demanding member states push beyond current benchmarks that many of them already struggle to hit.

Trump has said members of the military alliance should spend 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence – a huge increase from the current 2% goal and a level that no NATO country, including the United States, currently achieves. Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

President also plans to ask for "financial contribution" for maintenance of remaining troops, European diplomatic source said.

Trump used Davos to warn Europe, demanding NATO allies raise defence spending to 5% of GDP and threatening tariffs on companies not manufacturing in the US. He linked lower oil prices to ending the Ukraine war and assured LNG exports to Europe would continue.

I’m also going to ask all NATO nations to increase defense spending to 5% of [gross domestic product], which is what it should have been years ago,” he said in remarks given virtually to the. He noted that “most nations didn’t pay until I came along” in his first term in office.