As the NATO summit unfolded on Thursday, it was increasingly apparent that the contentious U.S. presidential race was heating up, with President Biden and former President Trump using the international event as a platform to advance their campaigns.

In an interview with ’ Brian Kilmeade, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declined to take sides when it came to the surge in GDP defense spending that NATO nations have achieved in 2024. Twenty-three of the 32 allies have now met their 2% commitments. 

“Former President Trump had a very clear message that the European allies had to pay more. This has been a message from consecutive U.S. administrations, and this message has had an impact,” Stoltenberg said. 

Trump and Biden have both claimed credit for the record number of NATO nations achieving their GDP defense spending commitments, a pledge initially made in 2006.

Trump has consistently maintained that he compelled NATO allies to increase their spending during his time in office. 

The number of allies meeting their spending commitments rose to nine in 2020 from five in 2016 when he took office. That figure dropped to six after he left in 2021.

The most significant jump in spending occurred this year, with 23 of the 32 nations under the alliance meeting their spending agreements for the first time ever.

Trump’s supporters attribute the surge in European defense spending primarily to the war in Ukraine, rather than the Biden administration’s efforts.

Canada, which has faced scrutiny for years over its apparent unwillingness to meet its defense spending commitment, announced on Thursday that it would finally fulfill its 2% spending pledge by 2032. 

However, it remains unclear whether the entire alliance is genuinely satisfied with this promise, particularly considering that smaller NATO nations, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, all of which share a border with Russia, have not only met their agreements but also exceed the 2% limit.

The eight other countries that fall short of their spending goals are Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain. Iceland is exempt from the 2% commitment as it does not have a standing military.

Several international officials expressed concerns this week that the 2% spending commitments agreed upon nearly two decades ago no longer reflect the realistic needs of the alliance in the face of adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. 

“We must be vigilant, and yet not allow fear to make us waver. We are at an inflection point. The choices we make now will decide the future of Ukraine, Europe, and this alliance,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Thursday. “Ukrainians clearly understand the existential nature of this war.

“The rest of us — unfortunately — are still battling with the obstacles of our own creation. We still have to change our peacetime mentality and finally make our spending on defense reflect the threat we face.”

In an interview with John Roberts, the co-anchor of “America Reports,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb acknowledged, “I would actually like to give Trump credit because I think he was right on the 2% limit. And, look, in 2014, out of the allies, only three reached that level. I think in 2018 it was something like ten. Now it’s 23. Would that have happened if Trump hadn’t pushed for it? I don’t think so. Would it have happened without circumstance? Probably not.”

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey, who was appointed just one week ago after a landslide election for the Labour Party, stated that the new administration would be working to increase NATO spending commitments.

“I think everyone will draw encouragement from the fact that, for the first time, we’ve now got 23 of the 32 nations meeting that 2%. We’re pushing towards 2.5%,” Healey said in reference to the U.K.’s current spending. “I think any assessment of the growing threats that we face and the global instability suggests that all NATO nations are going to need to do more than simply 2%.”

On Thursday, Biden highlighted other efforts he has undertaken to strengthen NATO, such as adding Finland and Sweden to the alliance. 

“Foreign policy has never been his strong point. And he seems to have an affinity to people who are authoritarian,” Biden said, referring to Trump.

Speaking at a news conference following the NATO summit, Biden told reporters, “I’m not having any of my European allies come up to me and say, ‘Joe, don’t run.’ 

“What I hear them say is, ‘You’ve got to win. You can’t let this guy come forward. He’d be a disaster. He’d be a disaster.'” 

When pressed by reporters about sentiment toward the U.S. presidency among allied nations, Stoltenberg stated, “NATO is the most successful alliance in history because we have been able to stay out of domestic politics.

“It’s not for NATO to have any opinion about who is going to be elected as next president or prime minister in an allied country.”