(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is committed to the trans-Atlantic military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, even as he presses European allies to boost defense spending.
“President Trump has stated again and again that he is a strong supporter of NATO,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with CNN host Fareed Zakaria on Sunday. “Opposite to what many people believe,” the U.S. “is increasing their military presence in Europe,” he said.
NATO, founded in 1949 to contain the Soviet threat to a war-ravaged Europe, is defined more by internal conflict than by a clear common enemy at its 70-year mark. In a speech to Congress in Washington last week, Stoltenberg delivered a subtle rebuke of Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, arguing that the U.S. and Europe have benefited equally from the alliance. He made the same point in the CNN interview.
Trump has repeatedly tangled with European allies, notably Germany, saying they’ve been freeloading of off U.S. defense spending. He revived his complaint last week, while claiming credit for instigating what he says are European efforts to redress the imbalance.
“We’ve worked together on getting some of our allies to pay their fair share,” Trump said on Tuesday. “And now it’s catching up.”
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