Biden seeks to undermine a Trump talking point in NATO summit address
President Joe Biden sought in a speech Tuesday to rebut a critique of the NATO military alliance that rival Donald Trump has made in arguing that the U.S. should abandon its obligations to allies in the pact.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sought in a speech Tuesday to rebut a critique of the NATO military alliance that rival Donald Trump has made in arguing that the U.S. should abandon its obligations to allies in the pact.
In the address to kick off the NATO summit meeting as it began in Washington, Biden made a point of noting that on his watch, the number of NATO member countries that are spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense has jumped from nine to 23. Trump frequently argued that by pressuring allies to spend more on defense, he was protecting American taxpayers from shouldering too much of the load.
Biden didn’t mention Trump by name, but his message was unmistakable: For all of Trump’s bluster about NATO countries that don’t meet their financial burdens, more nations have met the budgetary target since he left.
“Remaining countries that have not reached that milestone will get there soon,” Biden said.
Biden appeared at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of NATO. He spoke in front of the towering Doric columns in the Mellon Auditorium, the building where leaders signed the treaty establishing NATO in 1949.
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