NATO members brace for Trump win as record number of members move to meet spending pledges

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A majority of NATO members will meet their spending targets this year as member states grapple with the potential of former President Trump winning re-election in November.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Wednesday that 18 of the alliance's 31 members are on track to meet their pledges of contributing 2% of GDP to the group. European states are on track to contribute $380 billion this year, and Germany will meet its 2% pledge for the first time since the Cold War.

The figures show a dramatic uptick compared to 2023, which saw just 11 NATO allies meet their 2% spending pledge.

"That is another record number and a six-fold increase from 2014 when only three allies met the target," Stoltenberg said at a press conference on Wednesday.

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A majority of NATO members will meet their spending targets this year as member states grapple with the potential of former President Trump winning re-election in November. (Spencer Platt)

 The change comes after Trump offered harsh words for NATO allies at a campaign rally last week, going so far as to suggest the U.S. would not defend NATO allies that do not contribute their full share.

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Stoltenberg called on Trump not to destabilize the alliance in his remarks on Wednesday.

"We should leave no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow, about our readiness and our commitment, our resolve to protect allies," he said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Wednesday that 18 of the alliance's 31 members were on track to meet their pledges of contributing 2% of GDP to the group. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

This weekend, Trump recalled a conversation he had with the president "of a big country," who he says asked him if they did not increase their defense contribution to the North Atlantic alliance "and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?"

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"NATO was busted until I came along," Trump said. "I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.' They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' They couldn't believe the answer."

Trump set off a firestorm with his comments on NATO at a campaign rally this weekend. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The statement triggered an immediate response from President Biden's White House, which denounced the statement as "unhinged." White House spokesman Andrew Bates continued the administration's theme of Biden's presidency being a return to normalcy following Trump's time in office.

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"President Biden has restored our alliances and made us stronger in the world because he knows every commander in chief’s first responsibility is to keep the American people safe and hold true to the values that unite us," Bates said in a statement. "Thanks to President Biden's experienced leadership, NATO is now the largest and most vital it has ever been. Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged – and it endangers American national security, global stability, and our economy at home."