Trump supposedly does not want to defend NATO states that do not spend enough on their defense (and therefore, one can think further, do not buy enough military equipment from the USA) against a Russian attack. He would even encourage Russia to do whatever it wanted if it were attacked. With such statements, Trump confirms once again that he lacks any sense of international security and has no responsibility for the lives and well-being of others. Trump only knows one person worth caring about: himself.
Of course, the whole thing also has its funny sides. Among NATO countries, Luxembourg spent just 0.7% of its GDP on armaments in 2023. This is, among other things, a problem with the “share of GDP” measure. Luxembourg has a relatively large GDP – and little space for military airports and naval bases. Be that as it may, 0.7% is significantly less than 2%, the target that the NATO countries have set themselves.
From what we hear, there has still been no panic in Luxembourg. NATO’s eastern border consists of countries that meet the 2% target and it is unlikely that Putin will occupy Luxembourg with airborne troops. What’s more worrying is that Trump probably doesn’t even know that the country belongs to NATO.
People may also be relying on Trump’s gaps in knowledge in Belgium – with defense spending at 1.1% of GDP, also far from the 2% target. But as is well known, Trump thinks Belgium is a beautiful city. We don’t know whether he believes it is in Luxembourg.
However, making fun of Trump increasingly feels like gallows humor given the seriousness of the situation. Putin or Xi are likely to feel encouraged by Trump’s sayings to see what’s possible after his re-election. The post-war order, which, as is well known, was not a peace order in many regions of the world, has fallen apart and wars have once again become instruments for the continuation of politics by other means in Europe. The future prospects are not rosy – and paradoxically at a time when humanity would have all the financial and technical resources to solve its problems.