Do we want the US to financially support NATO?

I remember what people used to say about the Americans stationed in the UK!

Allira

valdavi

Oreo

Don’t forget the US allowed itself to be drawn into WW2 and helped out then in Europe.
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour it could have confined itself to war with Japan.

They'd have found that difficult, given that it was Hitler who declared war on the USA after Pearl Harbour, which sort of involved the USA in the war in Europe wether they wanted it or not.

They certainly did not rush in to help before that date, 11th December, 1941, and maintained their neutrality until then.

No they didn't rush in hence they have different dates for WW2 and WW1.......
Sometimes I think people forget that the other North American country Canada voluntarily voted in their parliament to enter WW2 only 7 days after the UK. There are allies and then there are allies..........

valdavi

Oreo

Don’t forget the US allowed itself to be drawn into WW2 and helped out then in Europe.
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour it could have confined itself to war with Japan.

They'd have found that difficult, given that it was Hitler who declared war on the USA after Pearl Harbour, which sort of involved the USA in the war in Europe wether they wanted it or not.

They certainly did not rush in to help before that date, 11th December, 1941, and maintained their neutrality until then.

Oreo

Don’t forget the US allowed itself to be drawn into WW2 and helped out then in Europe.
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour it could have confined itself to war with Japan.

They'd have found that difficult, given that it was Hitler who declared war on the USA after Pearl Harbour, which sort of involved the USA in the war in Europe wether they wanted it or not.

Given that the US is joint 6th in the list of defence spending by % of GDP, I don't think you can say they are over-funding NATO.

There's a wealth of information in that link I posted. When it comes to spending per capita Norway easily exceeds the USA figure. Don't forget the USA defence spending figures are the total for its Pacific and Atlantic sides, Europe only has the Atlantic side.

The US has effectuvely over-funded NATO for many years while most European members have failed to pay their share. Several US Presidents have complained about this but only Mr Trump has forced the Europeans to pay up. If NATO is to continue all the member states should pay their fair share.

The US did not allow itself to be drawn into WW2. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour Hitler declared war on the US (thereby fulfilling a mutual assistance treaty obligation to the Japanese).

Don’t allow views of DT to colour views of the US.

Don’t forget the US allowed itself to be drawn into WW2 and helped out then in Europe.
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour it could have confined itself to war with Japan.

NATO would be less, but not nothing, without the US.
On the other hand, would we be drawn into so many conflicts without the US?
Is that the silver lining?

There is confusion between national defence budgets and contribution to NATO I think. NATO uses common funding for operational running costs, with a 2019 formula cap setting the US contribution to roughly 15%—similar to Germany—with the UK and France contributing around 10% each.

Yes of course, NATO would be nothing without the financial contribution from the US.

When a member of NATO threatens to invade or annex other members then that member should be expelled. I wholeheartedly agree! Trump should have been made to withdraw his threats and apologise for them, or 'invited' to leave.

I've realised I've not answered the OP's question. Well I'm sorry but you don't get an absolute yes or no from me, it's far too nuanced. Yes their contribution is wanted so long as they play by the rules and respect the other members, no if he thinks that by contributing he gets to call 'jump' and the rest just shout 'how high'.

Rosie51

worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/nato-spending-by-country

Makes for some interesting reading. In 2025 USA wasn't the highest contributor by % of GDP coming in at joint 6th place.

Good link. But unfortunately the OP has told us that she doesn’t open links.
She is convinced that the us contributes 62% of the whole NATO budget.
I know how ridiculous that sounds but it’s been quoted several times.

The US spends a huge amount of its defence budget on war veterans. After each war the cost goes higher.
I think NATO will survive without the US. They are the only country which has asked for help from NATO and with a president who doesn't understand what NATO is we would be better off without them.
Is he going to call on Nato each time he attacks another country.

Do we want the US financial support to NATO?

A yes or no answer will suffice.

A yes or no answer cannot suffice. It's not a matter of the US supporting NATO. The question is whether or not the other members need the US to be a member of NATO, whether the US needs the rest of NATO too. If so the US must pay its fair dues as other countries do.

The USA is more than Trump. He'll be gone but not forgotten, a blip in the history books, and let us hope sooner rather than later.

Rosie51

Trump is perfectly entitled to think he doesn't need NATO and withdraw. At which point he can get all his military off Greenland and any other NATO sites. His bullyboy tactics aren't working.
The USA has Atlantic and Pacific sides to defend so of course their defence spending is large but only a tiny part of that goes to direct NATO common funding. In March 2025 USA refused to participate in any NATO exercises in Europe, so they've part withdrawn already. The exercise in January of this year is reported to have gone well.
Can anybody trust him to keep his word on anything? The man is obviously displaying some strange behaviours, his opinions and his 'facts' change from day to day. He truly is a case of 'if his lips are moving, he's lying"

When a member of NATO threatens to invade or annex other members then that member should be expelled.

I believe NATO can survive in some form without the Americans. Overall responsibility does lie with the Americans - SACEUR is always a four start general - at HQ SHAPE in Belgium. However, the command structure for most of the large HQ’s is rotated among Europeans anyway and has been for some time and it works very well - there is a cohesive military community sharing expertise and goodwill. Currently the Commander in Chief is Dutch and the Deputy C in C is British.

The major problem will be money, and inevitably there would also be something of an internecine power struggle with the Americans gone, but with the expertise and the infrastructure in place, it’s not impossible.

I would like to be a fly on the wall at Brunsum or SHAPE now.

worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/nato-spending-by-country

Makes for some interesting reading. In 2025 USA wasn't the highest contributor by % of GDP coming in at joint 6th place.

Why would anyone imagine that he even knows what he’s saying now? He’s been allowed to put the whole world in danger and should be removed to a place of safety! His toadying government refuse to see he’s more of a risk than ‘sleepy Joe’ and anything he says should be ignored.

Sorry for typos! Hope you could make some sense of what I was stating, put simply, there’s the door Trump!

Mr not Me

fancythat

Mr Trump. Withdraw from NATO.
And I mean that.

We will take what comes.

I absolutely agree! Bring it on Me Trump!

Why don’t you blame him??

If you look at why NATO is funded so heavily by the USA you’ll see right from day one this was partially based on GDP and partially what the then PORUS exactly wanted.

The USA do indeed “prop up”, if you wish to see it this way, NATO, however they make more than a small fortune out of arms dealing as a result.

They also currently, jointly with China, hold the world’s biggest financial deficit, an eye watering $39 trillion, increasing daily.

Trump is perfectly entitled to think he doesn't need NATO and withdraw. At which point he can get all his military off Greenland and any other NATO sites. His bullyboy tactics aren't working.
The USA has Atlantic and Pacific sides to defend so of course their defence spending is large but only a tiny part of that goes to direct NATO common funding. In March 2025 USA refused to participate in any NATO exercises in Europe, so they've part withdrawn already. The exercise in January of this year is reported to have gone well.
Can anybody trust him to keep his word on anything? The man is obviously displaying some strange behaviours, his opinions and his 'facts' change from day to day. He truly is a case of 'if his lips are moving, he's lying"