Politics
JUST IN: Trump Seals ‘Blockbuster’ Deal With NATO
President Donald Trump surprised the White House press corps on Monday by announcing a “blockbuster” of a deal with NATO over the purchase of American-made weapons of war.
Sitting with members of his cabinet in the Oval Office, the president revealed terms of a deal which will see NATO countries rely heavily on American defense contractors in the coming decades for military resources to support their own countries and push back against further aggression by Russia inside Ukraine.
“We’ve made a deal today where we’re going to be sending them weapons and they’re gonna be paying for ’em,” Trump told his advisors.
“The United States will not be having any payment made. We are not buying it, but we will manufacture it and they are going to be paying for it.”
Both sides met last month for a high-stakes meeting over the future of American spending toward defense of NATO allies. A new agreement will see all participants except Spain increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic products.
That amounts to “more than a trillion dollars a year,” Trump said.
“These are wealthy nations,” he went on. “They want to do it, and they feel very strongly about it, and we feel strongly about it too. But we’re in for a lot of money and we don’t want to do it anymore.”
As a result of Monday’s deal, the U.S. will be sending “some of the best” weapons in production to NATO countries including Germany, which is providing defensive and offensive missiles to Ukraine as it prepares to push back against some of the worst bombing by Russia since the start of the war.
Trump credited NATO ambassador Matt Whitaker for helping to shepherd the deal through.
“You better do a good job, Matt,” he said, looking at his aide.
WATCH:
A source familiar with the plan told Axios that the deal amounts to a $10 billion investment in U.S.-made goods. The artillery bound for Ukraine will include missiles, air defense weaponry, and shells.
The agreement comes as President Trump has expressed waning enthusiasm for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has accused of offering nothing but “bulls**t” during their many phone calls over the past several months.
Trump on Monday said that he is giving Russia a 50-day ultimatum to strike a deal to end the war or face 100% “secondary tariffs” on other countries that do business with Russia. Such a move could rock global oil markets, where superpowers like China and India purchase much of their oil from Russia.
Two sources in the administration told Politico that the missiles sent to Ukraine have the long-range capability to strike deep inside Russia, including Moscow.
Trump said Monday that whenever he speaks to Putin, “I always hang up and say, ‘Well, that was a nice phone call.’ And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city. And after that happens three or four times, you say, ‘Talk doesn’t mean anything.'”
The U.S. Senate is circulating a bill that would see 500% tariffs slapped on most Russian imports. Trump insisted on Monday that the amount was too high and said he has the unilateral authority to impose a 100% tariff instead.