The upcoming NATO summit in The Hague faces an unexpected complication: the potential absence of US President Donald Trump. According to a report from Germany’s Der Spiegel published on May 2, Trump may snub the key international gathering unless European member states dramatically increase their defense spending commitments – from the current target of 2% of GDP to a much steeper 5%.

Citing “confidential reports” from German officials stationed in Brussels, Der Spiegel states that US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, has repeatedly urged European governments to meet the new benchmark. Whitaker reportedly warned that failure to comply could lead Trump to boycott the summit entirely, signaling a dramatic escalation in transatlantic tensions that have been simmering for years.

Pressure on NATO allies to spend more is not new, but the demands under Trump’s current administration represent a sharp intensification. Traditionally, NATO has agreed that member states should aim to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, a target originally set at the 2014 Wales Summit following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. However, even by 2024, only 23 out of the alliance’s 32 member states have reportedly met that goal, according to NATO’s own estimates.

The United States, which spends about 3.5% of its GDP on defense, remains the largest contributor by far – not just financially but also in terms of troops, assets, and logistics. Trump’s argument, one he has made consistently for years, is that this imbalance is both unsustainable and unfair to American........

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