President Donald Trump’s increasingly negative mood has officials worried that he could cause major problems at this week’s NATO summit.
The president departed late Monday for a two-day summit in the Turkish capital Ankara, where he will meet with fellow NATO leaders and others including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
NATO allies are bracing to have to work to mollify Trump, whose mood swings and outbursts have repeatedly threatened the increasingly fragile alliance. Drastic actions, like the president’s threats to seize Greenland, have only further strained tensions inside NATO.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday that leaders needed to present concrete plans to reach the organization’s spending targets, after Trump complained about other countries not pulling their weight in a Thursday Truth Social post.
“President Trump fully expects that all allies will step up immediately and get on the path to 5% and do it with urgency,” Rutte added.
“Ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal. They were not there for us!!!” the president wrote, attaching a graphic that showed the U.S. contributing $999 billion to NATO funding compared to only $90 billion from the U.K. and less from other countries like France, Italy, and Poland. The U.S. spent $980 billion on defense in 2025, making up some 60 percent of total NATO spending.
Trump’s ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, also urged allies to do what they can to satisfy Trump’s demands, saying on Sunday, “This Ankara summit is really the time for our allies to step up, and I know that that’s what President Trump is expecting.”
Citing private conversations that have taken place over the past week, CNN reported on Monday that many officials are worried that the two-day summit might turn sour because of the president’s foul mood, evidenced in both his public remarks and in comments made behind closed doors.
During a meeting with Rutte in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump once again complained about his allies, telling the NATO chief, “Just be loyal. I just want their loyalty. We don’t need their money, we don’t need anything. We have the most powerful military in the world, by far, but I just want loyalty.”
European officials have balked at Trump’s critiques, noting that they, in addition to Congress, were not consulted before Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a war on Iran.
CNN reported that senior American officials said that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would be a topic of discussion in Ankara, but that they were skeptical that European nations had the military capabilities needed to meaningfully contribute to the effort.
In an effort to contain the president’s negative emotions, Rutte has sought to emphasize the increase in European defense spending ahead of the summit, crediting Trump for the boost.
“This chart is about the Trump trillion,” Rutte said during the Oval Office meeting, seeking to reassure the president that European leaders are committed to doing their part to fund NATO.
“I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed but, generally speaking, your European allies have been there with you.”
