Trump urges Nato members to double defence spending

The coffee had barely been poured at breakfast when Donald Trump launched his first blistering attack on his allies. They were expecting him to lambaste them for how little he feels they are contributing to NATO’s military might compared to the United States. More of a surprise was when he said Germany was “totally controlled by Russia” because of the gas it imported, something he said was “bad for NATO”. Less fractious talk with individual leaders followed but as he was leaving NATO HQ, he threw another grenade. He wants member states to spend 4 per cent of their economic output on defence, twice what he previously suggested should be the minimum.