President Trump on Saturday concluded his international trip with a speech that saluted overseas U.S. troops and expressed tones of optimism and success about working with America's “oldest and newest friends” to bring about Middle East peace and solve such pressing concerns as NATO and radical Islamic terrorism, Fox News reports.
On Saturday, Trump repeated an earlier argument that he was instrumental in getting a renewed commitment by NATO's member to spend more on defense. “The money is pouring in,” said Trump, arguing the influx would not have happened “had I not been elected."
Trump was referring to a vow by NATO countries to move toward spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Only five of NATO's 28 members meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.
However, there is no evidence that money has begun to "pour in" -- and countries do not pay the U.S. or NATO directly. Germany, for instance, has been increasing its defense spending with the goal of reaching the 2 percent target by 2024.
