President Trump ridiculed the idea of a European military for a second time Saturday, saying it “didn’t work out too well in W.W. I or 2.”
“But the U.S. was there for you, and always will be. All we ask is that you pay your fair share of NATO,” he tweeted.
The idea of a European Military didn’t work out too well in W.W. I or 2. But the U.S. was there for you, and always will be. All we ask is that you pay your fair share of NATO. Germany is paying 1% while the U.S. pays 4.3% of a much larger GDP – to protect Europe. Fairness!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2018
The idea of a European military has been floated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in November he sees it as necessary to protect the continent from Russia, China, and the U.S.
Trump instead pointed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the military alliance established in 1949 by its member countries in North America and Europe. Trump has repeatedly called on European leaders to honor their 2014 pledge to increase defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2024.
The U.S. spent 3.5 percent of its GDP on defense in 2017, according to NATO figures, down from 4.8 percent in 2011, though Trump has previously also erroneously cited 4.2 percent of GDP in defense spending.
Not all of that military funding goes to NATO.
Widely-cited figures put U.S. contribution to NATO’s common fund at 22 percent, a larger share than any other single country, and NATO data reveals the U.S. contributes more personnel than any other single member nation.
While European nations were involved in both world wars, many nations fought each other, not solely united against a common non-European enemy.
