THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) 鈥 U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday affirmed his support for NATO's mutual defense guarantee a day after he again rattled the 32-nation alliance by casting doubt on his commitment to the pledge.
After musing that whether he abides by Article 5 of the NATO treaty 鈥渄epends on your definition,鈥 Trump said about 24 hours later that he stood with that promise.
鈥淭hat's why I'm here,鈥 he said Wednesday as he met with Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands. 鈥淲hy would I be here?鈥
Meanwhile, the alliance on Wednesday enacted one of the Republican president's chief priorities: a pledge by NATO member countries to increase, sometimes significantly, .
鈥淚've been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years,鈥 Trump said earlier Wednesday as he met with Mark Rutte, the alliance's secretary-general. 鈥淚 think that's going to be very big news.鈥
The 32 leaders endorsed a final summit statement saying: 鈥淎llies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defense requirements as well as defense- and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations.鈥
Spain had already officially announced that it cannot meet the target, and others have voiced reservations, but the investment pledge includes a review of spending in 2029 to monitor progress and reassess the security threat posed by Russia.
The boost in spending follows years of Trump's complaints that other countries weren't paying their fair share as part of an alliance created as a bulwark against threats from the former Soviet Union. Most NATO countries, with the key exception of Spain, appeared motivated to bolster their own defenses not just by Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine but also, perhaps, to placate Trump.
As a candidate in 2016, Trump suggested that as president he would not necessarily heed the alliance鈥檚 mutual defense guarantees outlined in Article 5 of the NATO treaty. In March of this year, he that NATO would come to the United States' defense if needed, though the alliance did just that after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
On Tuesday, he told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to The Hague for the summit that whether he is committed to Article 5 鈥渄epends on your definition.鈥
鈥淭here鈥檚 numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right?鈥 Trump said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 committed to being their friends.鈥 He signaled that he would give a more precise definition of what Article 5 means to him once he was at the summit.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, who traveled to The Hague and met with several foreign leaders at the summit, said other countries raised 鈥渦nderstandable questions鈥 about the U.S. commitment to the alliance, 鈥渃ertainly given President Trump's past statements.鈥
鈥淲e were very strong and reassuring everyone that we are committed to NATO, we are committed to Article 5, we are committed to maintaining troops on the Eastern flank,鈥 said Shaheen, who represented the U.S. Senate with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware.
Trump also vented to reporters before leaving Washington about the actions by Israel and Iran after his announced ceasefire 鈥 although on Monday, he said the ceasefire was 鈥渧ery good.鈥
After Trump arrived in the Netherlands, news outlets, including The Associated Press, reported that a U.S. intelligence report suggested in an early assessment that Iran's nuclear program had been by weekend strikes and was not 鈥渃ompletely and fully obliterated,鈥 as Trump had said.
But on Wednesday morning, Trump and other senior Cabinet officials vigorously pushed back on the assessment, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the administration was launching an investigation into who disclosed those findings to reporters.
鈥淭hat hit ended the war," Trump said. Drawing comparisons to the atomic bombings from the U.S. during World War II, he added: "I don鈥檛 want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don鈥檛 want to use an example of Nagasaki. But that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war.鈥
Trump held several one-on-one meetings with counterparts on Wednesday, including Schoof; , the lawmaker known as the Dutch Donald Trump; and . The White House did not allow press coverage of the nearly hourlong sit-down with Zelenskyy.
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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
