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."
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
- [S1] Deutsche Welle original review
Original review · Retrieved October 16, 2026