Trump and Putin revitalize NATO

 Federalist Wire:

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At a February 2024 campaign event, he stated, “You don’t pay your bills; you get no protection. It’s very simple,” adding, “I would encourage them to do whatever the h*ll they want” regarding a potential attack on a NATO nation by Russia.

Yet, this blunt approach delivered results. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who shares a positive rapport with Trump, playfully acknowledged his unorthodox style. Referencing Trump’s rant about a faltering Iran-Israel ceasefire, Rutte said, “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.” Rutte highlighted the disruptive yet effective nature of his diplomacy.

“Donald Trump’s a real contrast to Joe Biden,” Peter Rough, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center on Europe and Eurasia, said to Fox News Digital. “Joe Biden bear hugged the NATO allies to the point of smothering them with adoration, and that caused them, I think, to sit back and relax a little bit.”

“Donald Trump, by contrast, exposes the allies to just enough hostile power to encourage them to do more, but it doesn’t expose them so much that it might invite a Russian attack. And I think that’s the art of the deal, so to speak.”

While Trump’s pressure has spurred allies to boost defense budgets, Putin’s actions have been equally critical in revitalizing NATO. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine jolted the alliance, prompting reforms even before Trump’s return to office.

“If Vladimir Putin and the Russians in the post-Cold War period had sought to engage Europe and chosen more of a democratic future, there might not be a NATO Alliance today,” Rough stated. “But Putin has given NATO a real reason to exist, and President Trump has done his part by… cajoling, pushing, nudging the allies.”
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Trump can be brutally frank, and that is sometimes necessary in dealing with reluctant allies.  NATO needs to get its act together to properly deal with the threat posed by Putin's Russia.