Trump effect: Germany taking defense spending and readiness seriously
During his first term, President Donald Trump was mocked when he wanted our European allies to spend more on their defense while relying less on Russian energy. Ironically, After Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many European countries moved in the direction Trump tried to get them to move years earlier. Conversations about Europe in the leaked text did not appear to be what Europe wanted to hear either. The Europeans may be starting to get the message that they need to increase their own capabilities instead of taking advantage of their arrangement with the US.
From Fox News:
In 2018, Trump rebuked Germany’s addiction to Russian gas, according to observers of German-U.S. relations. He told the U.N. General Assembly that “Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course. Here in the Western Hemisphere, we are committed to maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers.”
During his remarks, the camera panned to Germany’s delegation to the U.N. in 2018, including its then-U.N. Ambassador, Christoph Heusgen, and former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who all seemingly laughed and smiled at Trump.
However, those smirks soon turned into raw anxiety, when four years later, in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and Germany scrambled for a way to wean itself off Russian gas to avoid helping reward Putin.
Matthew Kroenig, director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, told Fox News Digital, “Every U.S. presidential administration since Eisenhower has complained about European free riding, but asking “pretty please” has not worked. Trump’s tough rhetoric is achieving results that eluded his predecessors.
“The Trump effect is in part due to Trump raising NATO burden sharing to the very top of the transatlantic security agenda and in part due to genuine fears that Washington could abandon NATO and Europe would need to fend for itself.”
Additional Reading:
Weinthal, B. (2025, March 29). Trump effect forces Germany to reprioritize defense as nation plays catch-up in military spending. Fox News. Link.
Category: Donald Trump, International Affairs, NATO
