U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview with Reuters on February 23 took credit for prompting European members of NATO to raise military spending and focus the alliance's mission more on terrorism.
"Remember the first time I talked about NATO, I said they all owe money?... I said two things: It’s obsolete because it doesn’t cover terrorism. They have now opened up a division to cover terrorism, solely because of me," Trump told Reuters.
"I knew nothing about NATO. I mean, I knew very little about NATO," he said. "But you watch what’s going to happen. They’re paying. They’re paying big league."
But despite getting quick results with pledges to increase spending to the 2 percent of economic output target set by NATO from Germany, Romania, Latvia, and other nations, Trump indicated he may keep pushing for more.
"No. 1, 2 percent is a low number, and No. 2, only five countries are paid up," he said.