Trump to warn NATO countries against using funny math on defense as key allies struggle to do the minimum

President Trump is set to warn NATO allies against “playing funny math” with their defense spending as he meets with leaders of the military bloc Tuesday — and some of America’s most powerful allies are looking to be the biggest laggards.NATO has gotten its act together on defense spending since President Trump’s first term — with every country hitting the 2% threshold in 2025, at least on paper.That’s up from just six of the 32 members by the end of his first term.But the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain — four of the five biggest European members of NATO — are all stalling on their promises to shell out more for military hardware and personnel.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to insist that alliance members are en route to fulfill last year’s agreement that all nations boost their defense spending to 5% of their GDP by 2030.The reality, however, shows that several of NATO’s largest economies — bogged down by moribund growth and political division — are far from reaching that goal.“They’ll get there when they can, but these nations don’t feel a strong urgency about their national security compared to others and are focused on other priorities,” Jerry McGinn, director of the CSIS think tank’s Center for the Industrial Base, told The Post.The UK — a nuclear power that once had the most powerful military in Europe — now has its smallest army in more than two centuries.Despite being the second-largest economy in Europe, the UK struggles to commit just 2.31% of its GDP towards its defense, according to the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank.While Britain announced plans to add an extra $20 billion toward its defense spending last week, the method of gaining the funds remains dubious and still falls short of even reaching 3% of GDP.The UK, which is undergoing yet another political upheaval over its staggered economy, has previously acknowledged that it cannot meet the 5% pledge.

Instead, Britain made its...