Trump's Temper Dominates NATO Summit in Ankara
His public demands and threats are pushing European leaders to promise big defence spending, seek personal placation, try to avert a breakdown in alliance decision‑making.
Overview
- Reporting from Ankara says the president arrived in a sour mood, revived old demands about Greenland and raised the prospect of withdrawing U.S. troops from Europe.
- European leaders have responded by signalling bigger defence commitments, with Germany planning nearly €125 billion in defence spending for 2026 to show they are stepping up.
- Senior European figures including Friedrich Merz are engaging directly with the president in efforts to calm him and keep summit business on track.
- A high‑profile Trump meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is proceeding under visibly strained conditions, increasing the risk that the summit will fail to produce unified decisions.
- The coverage links this summit drama to broader security pressure from recent U.S. strikes on Iranian targets and to long‑running European efforts to become more self‑reliant after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.