NATO leaders pose for a family photo during the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
With the Iran war reignited, the United States may need its European allies more than ever, but President Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday without announcing new commitments for the defense alliance to support the conflict.
Instead, throughout his two days in Ankara, he sent mixed signals about his feelings about the military alliance, at one point advocating “tremendous unity” and at others harsh words for other countries hesitating to get involved in Middle East conflicts.
“I’m not happy with NATO because they didn’t want to support us against Iran, which is the biggest sponsor of terrorism,” he said during an appearance with NATO chief Mark Rutte. “They didn’t want to help us.”
President Trump left the summit with criticism that the United States re-escalated during the summit at a time when an alliance of European nations could help defuse the war with Iran. European leaders spoke politely in public, even as President Trump put bilateral meetings and press conferences on hold after complaining about whether the United States would protect European countries if they were attacked.
One geopolitical expert said the United States would greatly benefit from international assistance in dealing with Iran.
Nicholas Burns, a Harvard professor and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that “I think the president would do well” to encourage European and Persian Gulf leaders to “do some damage to Iran’s economy.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request from CNBC to share what NATO agreed to on Iran during the summit.
NATO has been a common target of Trump’s chilling rhetoric during both of his terms as president, as he has pushed other member states to increase defense spending.
President Trump has repeatedly said that the United States does not actually need help from NATO, but that he asked for help from Iran to test its loyalty.
“We were really testing it. We wanted to know if they were going to participate,” Trump told Rutte on Wednesday, adding that he had met with several NATO allies, including Germany, France and Britain.
President Trump’s NATO needs and annoyances
This narrative that NATO members failed his Iran “test” is consistent with President Trump’s sustained criticism that the alliance is a raw deal for the United States and that NATO members have shown insufficient loyalty to the United States.
President Trump has repeatedly threatened to reduce the U.S. military presence in Europe, doing so again this week despite Russia’s persistent threats against Ukraine and other neighboring countries, threatening to pull the U.S. out of the 77-year-old alliance altogether.
NATO leaders, particularly Mr. Rutte, continue to speak flatteringly of President Trump and the United States, the alliance’s most powerful member. Continued U.S. buy-in is critical to the group’s power, particularly with regard to the validity of Article 5, the promise that an attack on one state is considered an attack on all nations.
“I know you’re disappointed,” Rutte told Trump on Wednesday about Iran.
He noted that thousands of U.S. military planes have taken off from European airports in support of President Trump’s military offensive against Iran. “Europe was one big platform for power projection for the United States,” he said.
Asked at a press conference whether European countries with feuds with the United States could be counted on for U.S. support in the event of an attack, Trump did not give a direct answer.
“They didn’t help us. We didn’t need help, but if we wanted help,” he said.
Trump also raised the possibility of withdrawing all of the approximately 68,000 U.S. troops stationed in Europe, a number that has already declined since Trump began his second term.
Trump complained on Tuesday that his desire to acquire Greenland had been denied “despite all the money we spent on helping Russia” and said: “We could take all our soldiers out of Europe.”
Europe’s view of President Trump
European leaders told CNBC they considered the president’s threat to withdraw troops an empty threat.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki told CNBC that “American soldiers in Poland will certainly remain…Together with Polish soldiers, we will protect Central and Eastern Europe and NATO’s borders.”
“President Trump is a great friend of the Republic of Poland,” Nawrocki added. “There are about 10,000 American soldiers in Poland. We would like to establish a permanent camp for American soldiers in Poland.”
“I don’t think the United States will withdraw all its troops from Europe,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gare Stoer told CNBC.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal expressed confidence in U.S. support in Europe, telling CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick that President Trump “has said very forcefully that if asked about the Russia incident, he will protest against the Baltic states and Poland.”
Tensions over defense spending were the most anticipated issue at the NATO summit, and European leaders were prepared to comment. Some credit U.S. pressure for the increase in spending, while others point to the Russian threat as a factor.
“The American people are hearing loud and clear the call to take more responsibility for their own defense in wartime, peacetime and planning,” Finnish President Alexander Stubbe said Tuesday on CNBC.
“There should be one club, and we should call it the 5% club,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told CNBC, referring to the percentage of GDP committed by NATO countries.
