The actions of President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conflict in Ukraine are prompting rapid and likely lasting transformations within NATO.
After last month’s announcement where most of NATO’s 32 members agreed to boost defense spending to 5% of each country’s GDP, Trump made headlines by unexpectedly shifting his stance, declaring that the alliance was no longer a “rip-off.” Despite his tough previous approach, there are clear changes in how the security organization operates.
“Trump has changed the game,” stated Peter Doran, a specialist in Russia, Ukraine, and transatlantic relations, and an adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Then there’s Vladimir Putin, who has undoubtedly made Europeans conscious of the threat Russia poses to them.”
Beginning in his first term, Trump made clear his resentment that only five NATO allies were meeting their 2% GDP defense spending pledges, and those criticisms rang loudly following his return to the campaign trail for the 2024 election amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Questions ran rampant over whether Trump would not only continue to provide strong U.S. support for Ukraine, but whether Washington would remain a reliable ally for Europe when confronted with the reality of a war-ready Russia.
Mike Ryan, who formally served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, told Fox News Digital he does not necessarily believe that the Trump and Putin presidencies have permanently changed the NATO alliance but said, “Both have energized and focused [the] allies.”
“But that’s what happens in NATO when confronted with an external crisis,” he added.
Upon Trump’s re-election there was increased concern about how the U.S. would be perceived by its allies, whether it was still considered a trusted partner or if it was returning to isolationist tendencies not seen since the lead up to World War II.
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet during the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in The Hague, Netherlands on June 25, 2025. (Getty Images)
“The answer is very clearly no,” Doran argued. “If anything, Trump came back and did exactly the same thing he did in the first administration, and that was to remind the Europeans that they are chronically under-spending on defense.
“If anything, Trump hasn’t changed at all. It’s the Europeans’ awareness that they need to spend more, and they have responded positively to that challenge, and that is very encouraging,” he added.
Though Rough cautioned there is a balance to be maintained when putting such high pressure on U.S. allies.
“Donald Trump’s created a lot of anxiety in Europe, and it’s important to convert that anxiety into policy wins,” he said. “If that anxiety is allowed to linger or is exacerbated or made worse, then one could see some European states push more for so-called strategic autonomy, or a separation from the U.S.
“But if that anxiety translates to… real policy victories and partnerships with Europe, then I think it can be a healthy thing,” Rough said.
