How is the U.S. relationship with NATO evolving?

0:00This week on Up First, President Trump heads to the NATO summit with a stark warning for Iran. make a deal or the U.S. will, quote, finish the job. We're tracking what the escalating tension means for energy prices. Plus, a critical Senate race upended as Democrat Graham Plattner faces sexual assault allegations. That's this week on Up First. Listen every morning on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today on State of the World, how is the U.S. relationship with NATO evolving.

0:33You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Tuesday, July 7th. I'm Greg Dixon. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is holding a meeting of leaders in Turkey's capital, Ankara, this week. Many of the heads of state are determined to show the military alliance is getting stronger. But one leader has consistently had a more confrontational approach when it comes to NATO, President Donald Trump. In a few minutes, we'll see what the NATO relationship looks like at the ground level between militaries.

1:09But first, we go to Ankara, where NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi tells us leaders are struggling to project unity in the face of uncertainty about President Trump's commitment to the alliance. At this year's summit in Ankara, there was one arrival everyone was bracing for. Merhaba, Ashkar. Fool! President Trump opened his visit with a few words of Turkish.

1:37He's the only leader who got the full ceremonial welcome, a flyover, a military band, and a personal greeting from host President Erdogan. And as anticipated, it didn't take long before he showed his disquiet to his NATO alliance partners. I was very disappointed with NATO. And frankly, if it weren't held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it's possible that I wouldn't have attended. Trump has long argued that NATO allies rely too heavily on the U.S. He says Europe isn't doing enough to help in his war in Iran. Allies have been reluctant to take part in efforts to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or provide military support to the U.S.

2:22Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down. And it's okay. But, you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them. So this week, allies are hoping to convey a message of unity and credibility. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte tried to set the tone of this year's summit with a soccer analogy. No team wins because of one brilliant player. Everyone matters. No one wins alone.

2:58With a glitzy video, Rutte announced billions in arms deals to prove to Trump NATO is serious. Financially, European allies are stepping up. Tori Tauszig is the director of the Atlantic Council's Transatlantic Security Initiative. She says while the spending increases are significant, allies are also grappling with questions over the future of the alliance. My biggest concern is that it is the political confusion about how committed the United States is to this alliance that weakens fundamentally deterrence in the eyes of Moscow. Tauszig says that even though NATO is trying to prove its relevance to Trump, many allies are still wary.

3:36It is unavoidable when you speak with allied officials, European officials, that there is a crisis in confidence about whether the United States would be there in an Article 5 type contingent. Tausik is referring to the NATO article that says that an armed attack against one or more of the allies is considered an attack against all. She says for this year's summit, allies are focused on one main goal. This is what I would call a high-stakes summit with low expectations. Very high stakes for where this alliance goes on delivering from the pledges of last year and also keeping the United States engaged and committed to the alliance.

4:12That means for the purposes of this summit, keeping the president happy. And that will be on leaders' minds as they gather for dinner tonight to the strains of a military band. The optics are of pageantry, alliance and solidarity. But the real test is whether President Trump shares that vision. Hadil Alshalchi, NPR News, Ankara. So that's a look at the NATO alliance at the top level. For a look at the relationship on the ground, or in this case, on the water, we're going to a recent joint military exercise between U.S. forces and some of the NATO allies. Steve Walsh takes us to Norfolk, Virginia.

4:50About a week ago, the French naval vessel Dixmude was sailing off the North Carolina coast near Camp Lejeune. Be careful. The Navy called it the largest exercise ever held in the Western Atlantic. We deploy, as we see, with the Spanish, French and American amphibious ships for exercise. Thomas is a French officer. French military policy is to only release first names. He says NATO partners are working closely together as they conduct beach landings and simulate handling mass casualties. But asked about the relationship between President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron, Thomas is more circumspect.

5:30In France, military don't say politics. So I don't have an opinion on that one. OK, sorry for that one. I think, you know, I think military is the same for USA, so we don't talk politics. The next mood is carrying 160 officers in training from 16 different countries, including from the U.S. Navy. They spent two weeks off the coast of Norfolk. U.S. Admiral Doug Perry ran the exercise as head of NATO's Joint Forces Command Norfolk. He, too, was just as diplomatic. While we have challenges of sorting where we've been in the past to what we need to be capable of doing in the future, we are stronger than we've been in years.

6:11I don't get involved in politics. But NATO is trying to adapt to the political climate created by the Trump administration. Soon after Perry leaves in September, a British commander will take over as head of the NATO command in Norfolk, which covers the Atlantic and the High North, including Greenland. It's a literal example of the Europeans taking a more direct role in the alliance. News of the change in command came during the 2025 NATO summit, after President Trump declared that the U.S. may take Greenland by force. Matthew Krainig is vice president at the Atlantic Council. That was really unprecedented, the idea that a NATO ally would attack another NATO ally, and really not just any NATO ally, but the United States, the leader of the alliance.

6:59And so that really, I think it's hard to underestimate how much that shook European leaders. The U.S. is reviewing the amount of forces available to Europe. As members meet in Turkey this week, there is hope among NATO leaders that the rhetoric is designed to push Europe to spend more rather than force a break in the alliance, Kroenig says. Ian Brzezinski, a resident fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, is not so sure. He fears the Trump administration may have other reasons to push allies to spend 5 % of GDP on defense. Basically using burden sharing as a camouflage to height the real intent, which is to have an absolutely minimal posture in Europe.

7:42Back in Norfolk for the last day of the Navy training exercise, Captain Wolfgang Eckmüller, commander of the German frigate FGS Saxon, says the alliance is stepping up. Absolutely. I think it's already happening. If you look at Germany, we boosted our defense budget by five times. And that's quite a huge thing in Germany. We're building so many frigates right now, and that's really impressive. Whether it's enough will be one of the questions answered in Turkey this week. For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh in Norfolk, Virginia.

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