President Trump just wised up on the importance of NATO. When a candidate, he made the military alliance a political punching bag. Now as president, he’s recognized NATO as a critical strategic partner. And that’s welcome news.
“I said NATO was obsolete,” Trump said during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “It is no longer obsolete.”
While critics will quickly call it a flip-flop, Trump shouldn’t be slammed for changing his mind. Instead the new stance reflects a better understanding of the evolving threats facing the Western world. If anything, the turnaround should be praised as a serious pivot in the president’s strategic psyche.
The president once saw NATO as a geopolitical favor, little more than foolish American altruism. Not long ago he complained that “countries aren’t paying their fair share.” With hefty defense spending, as Robert Kagan observed, American power has underwritten a sort of European paradise where nations divert funds away from the military and toward generous social programs.
And that’s a just criticism. Trump ought to have that debate with our NATO partners, just not right now. While Russia shakes a modern mailed fist, Iran rattles its nuclear saber, and the Islamic State sets Middle Eastern fires, America should look for friends.
Not only has Trump learned that lesson, he’s adapted it to his “Art of the Deal” shtick. By forging a deal to welcome tiny Montenegro into NATO, the president has emboldened NATO and put Russia on notice. That’s a good and strategic thing deserving of praise.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
