Here’s a number the beltway class swore they’d never see: $1.2 trillion.
That’s the new defense spending Europe and Canada have added since President Donald Trump first took office in 2017. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has rightly called it the “Trump Trillion.”
When NATO leaders gather for this year’s summit in Ankara, Turkey, next week, they should remember one simple fact: this alliance is stronger today because Trump demanded that our allies do more.
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Here’s the deal: For many years, NATO was about charity. The United States and a select few European countries provided for the alliance. However, NATO can and should be a hard-nosed security arrangement that advances American and the other members’ interests, and it only works when every ally carries its fair share of the burden.
For years, U.S. presidents asked Europe to spend more on its own defense. Too many allies kept relying on American taxpayers while failing to meet their own obligations in exchange for their own social welfare programs. Meanwhile, those same “allies” treated the U.S. like their own subsidized private security force.
That’s why Trump rightfully said, “no more” and put a stop to this. He understood that the deal needed to be renegotiated, not simply accepted.
Trump did what his predecessors could not. He made it clear that every NATO ally must live up to its commitments, including Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which requires every member to build and maintain its own capacity to defend itself first.
The message worked. Last year in The Hague, allies agreed to a historic new standard of spending 5% of gross domestic product on defense and defense-related investments, replacing a target that for too many countries had become a ceiling instead of a floor.
That’s leadership. The new spending commitments are proof that leverage worked. Rather than weakening the alliance, Trump’s insistence on fair burden-sharing has strengthened it by ensuring allies invest more in their own defense and infrastructure.
That investment isn’t just making Europe stronger. It is creating jobs for hardworking families right here at home. Increased European and Canadian spending is going toward American-made defense equipment, supporting more than 112,000 American jobs. Another 83,000 U.S. jobs are supported through investments by European defense companies in the U.S.
I’ve seen what that means up close. As Florida’s governor and senator, I watched our military and defense industry grow into a pillar of our economy. Today, it supports more than 860,000 Florida jobs and over $100 billion in economic impact every single year. When our allies buy American, states such as Florida win.
Beyond defense, a stable and secure Europe remains America’s largest economic partner. Security and prosperity go hand in hand.
But the job isn’t finished. The 5% must be turned into real capabilities: ships, planes, and ammunition, not press releases. In Ankara, the alliance needs to present a united front to the world.
NATO remains the strongest military alliance in history, bringing together 32 countries committed to defending themselves and one another. At a time when communist China is expanding its military and Putin’s Russia continues its aggression in Europe, projecting decisive strength matters more than ever.
Europe is finally stepping up to meet its responsibilities. That is exactly what Trump has been demanding for years.
Were some allies disappointing on Iran? Absolutely, Spain is the best example of that, but most of the allies eventually rose to the challenge and continued to support the broader mission of protecting our shared security interests.
As Secretary General Rutte noted, between 4,000 and 5,000 U.S. aircraft sorties were supporting Operation Epic Fury from bases across Europe. That is a reminder that this alliance continues to deliver when it matters most. I thank God for the American warriors who flew those missions. Their success benefited from decades of allied cooperation, including access to bases, overflight rights, and critical infrastructure that no other coalition in the world could provide. A few weak links shouldn’t define this alliance.
The same is true in Ukraine. As War Secretary Pete Hegseth has emphasized, Trump’s approach is producing real progress. Through Trump’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL initiative, our European allies are stepping up and taking the lead in funding Ukraine’s defense. That is exactly how burden-sharing should work. The U.S. leads, and our allies are increasingly carrying a greater share of the effort. That is exactly the balance Trump has sought.
And it works. Ukraine continues to hold its lines despite relentless Russian attacks, while Russia has paid an enormous military and economic price for its aggression.
This summit should build on that momentum. It should increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. It should reaffirm the historic commitments made in The Hague. It should demonstrate that Europe can and will continue taking greater responsibility for its own security while standing shoulder to shoulder with the U.S.
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Most importantly, the Ankara summit must send an unmistakable message to our adversaries: NATO is stronger than ever because its members are united in both word and deed, and America isn’t going anywhere.
Trump’s objective was never to weaken or walk away from NATO. It was to secure a better deal for the public. Trump challenged the alliance to become stronger. The alliance appears to be delivering, and the results will speak for themselves.
Rick Scott is a U.S. senator serving the people of Florida.