US President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed NATO for significantly increasing their defence spending commitments, saying the alliance was achieving goals that many had once considered impossible.
“That’s going to be much greater protection for them. “It’s time to stop the killing. Trump also highlighted the recently enacted law that grants him expanded tariff powers, saying he could use the new authorities if necessary to increase pressure related to the conflict.
Speaking at UN General Assembly session, Trump said member nations had agreed to raise defence spending targets to 5% of GDP from the previous 2% benchmark, describing the move as a major step toward strengthening the alliance’s collective security.
“NATO is doing things that nobody thought they would be able to do, including raising their number to 5 percent from 2 percent,” Trump said. “We continue to seek an end to the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine, which is killing thousands and thousands of people every month,” he said. Referring to Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump said he had signed “a powerful new law passed by Congress” that provides him with “enormous new tariff authorities.”
