WASHINGTON — At the NATO summit, a “family photo” was taken, where President Joe Biden is seen flanked by leaders of other countries at the annual summit of the North American Treaty Organization. A big focus of the summit was supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“Recently, it was a children's hospital that was bombed,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison. “I mean, those things are beyond normal standards. And I think watching NATO work together to show how important NATO is as an organization will probably be very significant.” 

Though Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the United States and its allies have supported the war-torn country with funding and armaments.

What You Need To Know

  • World leaders Thursday wrapped up a consequential NATO summit in Washington hosted by President Joe Biden

  • It was an opportunity for Biden to showcase his foreign policy credentials and relationships with foreign leaders, just as Republicans gather in Milwaukee to designate Former President Donald Trump as their presidential nominee

  • But the Presidential race, and the sudden questions about Biden’s candidacy, cast a shadow over the summit

  • Those questions brought new attention to Trump’s ambivalence toward the alliance, and new questions about the U.S. role in NATO should Trump be returned to the White House

“The United States and its allies decided that a Russian invasion of the second largest country in Europe presented a threat not just to Ukraine, but to all of European security,” said Brian Taylor, the director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs at Syracuse University. “It clearly would have been the case that if Russia had successfully seized Ukraine, that all of the NATO member states that bordered Russia and Ukraine would be extremely worried about the possibility of a Russian invasion and would have been asking for more commitment of U.S. weapons, more commitment of U.S. troops to their defense. And all of those countries, including the U.S., would have been increasing their military spending and military deployments significantly. So supporting Ukraine actually, without any U.S. troops being deployed in the country, is actually quite a good return on investment for the United States.”

The summit was held a week before Republicans meet in Milwaukee to nominate Donald Trump as President. When he was President, Trump questioned the need for NATO. At a campaign rally Tuesday, he said he didn’t know what the alliance was at the start of his term. And during a campaign speech in February, Trump claimed that when he was president, he told the leader of a NATO country that he would “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes against NATO allies who don’t meet defense spending guidelines. 

“It's not money paid to NATO,” said Garret Martin, the co-director of the Transatlantic Policy Center at American University. “I think that's always, Donald Trump keeps confusing the issue.”

Members have committed to spend two percent of their gross domestic product on defense, but not all meet the mark.

“The latest data shows that we have 23 out of the 32 countries that are now meeting the two percent,” Martin said. “We do need countries to invest significantly in their defense and their capabilities, because the security environment has become more difficult. But we also need them to spend well, and that's often more important than just a raw quantity. I think there's an over-focus on it, and it's not always helpful. I think there's a strong argument that the Europeans should be doing more, but they have. In the last 10 years, defense spending amongst the European member states of NATO has gone up by 33 percent. So the investment and the commitment is there, it just, it takes time.” 

Since Biden took office, new members have been added to the Alliance and there’s been an uptick in defense spending. But some Republicans still say it’s crucial for all NATO countries to fulfill the commitment.

“We can't carry the whole burden,” said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua. 

“We can't float everything all the time, and I'm an incredibly strong proponent of NATO,” added Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien. 

Biden hosted this year’s summit as he faced a battery of questions over his mental fitness for office after his dismal performance in his debate with Trump two weeks ago. Those questions brought new attention to Trump’s ambivalence toward the alliance, and new questions about the U.S. role in NATO should Trump be returned to the White House.

“There's this huge cloud hanging over it and NATO member states are aware of it that a Trump presidency might mean quite a shaky time period for the alliance going forward,” said Taylor. “President Biden has decades of experience with respect to dealing with NATO member countries and understanding the alliance. And President Trump has a much more negative and hostile attitude towards the alliance. So in terms of what the November election means for foreign policy, there's a pretty sharp difference between the likely Democratic and likely Republican candidate in the coming election.” 

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