{"id":23130,"date":"2018-07-13T15:01:31","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T15:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/13\/bruised-in-brussels-was-trumps-summit-drama-worth-it\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:00:11","slug":"bruised-in-brussels-was-trumps-summit-drama-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nato-priorities\/2018\/07\/13\/bruised-in-brussels-was-trumps-summit-drama-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruised in Brussels: Was Trump\u2019s summit drama worth it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BRUSSELS \u2014 U.S. President Donald Trump declared a personal victory at the NATO summit this week, but his brash showing came at a price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is one theme that emerged from the gathering here, it is that the task of appeasing an incalculable U.S. president has become something of a narrative unto itself. Less pronounced at the beginning of his presidency, when allies were still trying to figure him out, the art of telling Trump a good story that makes him look good has now become a strategic tool for dealing with Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take, for example, the issue of defense spending among NATO allies. Many Europeans still lag behind the goal of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Thanks to Trump\u2019s pressure<\/a> \u2014 and this is a true story \u2014 they rushed to pledge more<\/a> long before the summit even began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Trump\u2019s claim at the end of the gathering that allies had agreed to spend yet more was the product of some truth-bending behind the scenes. Whatever allies told him in a frantic emergency meeting, it prompted Trump to call a Thursday news conference praising himself for having just extracted fresh concessions from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for in-depth analysis and interviews from NATO\u2019s summit in Brussels!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg quickly followed with a news conference of his own in which he went to great lengths to avoid having to say that no new spending schemes had in fact been agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who still had doubts at that point, Rose Gottemoeller, an American diplomat and Stoltenberg’s deputy, later in the day confirmed that the objective of 2 percent by 2024 remains in place for all members, as it had before the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drama overshadowed many of the summit\u2019s decisions, including the approval of a new command structure<\/a>, a new commitment to stabilizing Afghanistan, the start of accession talks with Macedonia<\/a> and a new Canada-led NATO training mission in Iraq. In a show of unity, a customary joint declaration was approved by all members, including the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It left some summit goers and analysts relieved that NATO had not actually imploded, as it seemed would be the case for a brief moment Thursday afternoon. For others, a bitter aftertaste remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat a terrible consolation prize,\u201d retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told Defense News. He criticized Trump for bringing a \u201cwrecking ball\u201d to the summit and for pursuing negotiations akin to a doctor \u201ckilling the patient first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially in the case of Germany, Trump should have pursued a more tactful approach given Berlin’s status as an \u201cessential\u201d ally for the United States, Hodges argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\t