Trump Camp Considers Picking New Fight With NATO On Budgets
- Advisers discussed setting goal of 3% of GDP in meetings
- Most NATO members only recently hit 2% spending target
General view of the NATO-Ukraine Council during the NATO 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC on July 11.
Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Advisers for Donald Trump have floated the idea of demanding NATO allies spend 3% of gross domestic product on defense, a higher target than alliance members have agreed to and a warning shot that signals even more tension if he returns to the White House.
The idea of calling on NATO members to spend so much more than the current 2% goal - one that many allies have only recently met - came up in discussions at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, according to people familiar with the conversations who asked not to be named because the issue isn’t public.