Threats then 'love': Trump's capricious NATO summit in Ankara yields $160bn in new pledges
The US president berated alliance partners over Iran and defence spending, then spoke of 'love' and praised Zelenskyy just hours later, as NATO allies announced $160bn in fresh defence, energy and Ukraine commitments.
Trump's sharp words
President Trump arrived in Ankara on 7 July in a sour mood, the temporary ceasefire with Iran having collapsed. He called Iran's leaders "scum" and "sick people" and told reporters he was "not happy with Nato." He accused European allies of failing to support the US in the Iran conflict, threatened to cut off trade with Spain, and revisited his desire to acquire Greenland, prompting Denmark's leader to insist the country would defend "every inch" of its territory.
I am not happy with Nato.
Swift pivot
A few hours after the verbal assault, Trump declared that there had been "a lot of love" in the room with the same allies he had just excoriated. He called the meeting the most positive NATO gathering he had ever attended and unexpectedly praised Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as "ingenious" for holding his country together against Russia.
There was a lot of love in that room.
He is ingenious.
Rutte's role
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was credited with soothing Trump's tempers. On 6 July, ahead of the summit, Rutte compared the US president to Dwight Eisenhower and thanked him for strengthening the alliance. He also noted that almost 5,000 American planes had flown sorties from Europe to support Operation Epic Fury, defending Washington's contributions.
- Mark Rutte compares Donald Trump to Dwight Eisenhower ahead of the summit.
- Trump arrives, calls Iran's leaders 'scum', threatens Denmark and Spain, says he is 'not happy with Nato'.
- Trump emerges from meetings talking of 'love' and unity.
- NATO allies announce $50bn in defence contracts, $30bn in energy investment, and $80bn in Ukraine aid.
Billions pledged
Despite the acrimony, facts on the ground were more reassuring: about 80,000 US troops remain stationed across roughly 50 bases in Europe, and most members are raising defence budgets. At the Ankara summit, allies announced close to $50 billion in new defence contracts, another $30 billion in energy infrastructure investments, and $80 billion in military aid for Ukraine over 2025 and 2026.
- New defence contracts
- 50 $bn
- Energy infrastructure investment
- 30 $bn
- Military assistance to Ukraine (2025–2026)
- 80 $bn
De‑risking from America
Behind the public stage‑management, European policymakers are quietly reducing long‑standing dependence on the United States, boosting their own defence, energy, and technology industries, a trend also visible among American partners in Asia and the Middle East. Ursula von der Leyen's 2023 call to de‑risk from China has been repurposed; today Europe's main concern is Washington. Critics argue this global distancing from an erratic superpower is already imposing economic and security costs on the US, as its military edge and technological primacy erode.
