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The claim

"Until I came along," the US "was paying for virtually 100% of NATO," Trump said, adding, "We paid for, in my opinion, 100% of NATO."

Rating

False

Reviewed by Deutsche Welle ↗ ·

Original fact check ↗

Original review summary

The review says US spending accounted for a little over 70% of NATO members’ total defense spending in 2016, not virtually 100%. It also says the US contributed about 22% of NATO’s common budget, with the remainder paid by other members.[S1]

Research date:

Sources and attribution

  1. [S1] Deutsche Welle original review

    Original review · Retrieved October 16, 2026