Fierce Trump critic makes stunning admission on defense spending: ‘He has won the argument’

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has “won the argument” on NATO defense spending, crediting years of U.S. pressure with prompting Canada and European allies to take on a greater share of the alliance’s security burden.

Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Carney said he spoke with Trump before the gathering and told him that NATO members increasingly recognize the need to boost military spending amid continued security threats from Russia.

“It’s not just that he’s winning the argument — he’s won the argument,” Carney told reporters. “Countries realize they need to take more responsibility. They see the direct threats.”

Carney said Trump’s long-standing push for allies to spend more on defense is producing results.

“The president is looking for a shift of the burden within NATO. That’s appropriate,” Carney said. “That is happening. It is gaining momentum.”

The remarks mark a notable shift in tone from Carney, who has frequently criticized Trump over trade, tariffs and U.S.-Canada relations.

Since taking office, the Canadian prime minister repeatedly has criticized Trump over his tariffs on Canadian goods and his repeated suggestions that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state. 

During his victory speech in March 2025, Carney accused Trump of putting “unjustified tariffs” on Canada and declared, “He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won’t.” 

He also vowed to maintain retaliatory tariffs until “the Americans show us respect.”

Despite those differences, Carney acknowledged that Trump’s yearslong campaign to pressure NATO allies into increasing defense spending has succeeded.

Carney said he relayed that message directly to Trump during a phone call Sunday before both leaders arrived at the summit.

“The president is here and he’s in a good mood,” Carney said.

At the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, alliance leaders agreed to a new goal of spending 5% of GDP on defense and security by 2035—more than doubling the alliance’s longstanding 2% benchmark. The pledge followed years of Trump criticizing NATO members for relying too heavily on the U.S., warning that allies were not paying their fair share and at times threatening to pull the U.S. out of the alliance if European nations failed to significantly increase defense spending. 

But the alliance has no formal mechanism to force countries to comply. Instead, Trump has increasingly sought to use U.S. economic leverage to pressure allies that fall short.

On Wednesday, Trump singled out Spain after Madrid refused to commit to the alliance’s 5% target, calling it “a terrible partner in NATO” and urging the U.S. to cut off trade and tourism with the country. Spain has argued it can meet NATO’s military capability requirements while spending roughly 2.1% of GDP on defense.

Larger nations like Britain and France also have pledged to move toward the 5% target, but both currently spend well below that level, raising questions about how aggressively the Trump administration will pressure other major allies to accelerate their defense spending.

NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker told reporters July 1 that the Trump administration was considering countermeasures for countries that fail to meet their 5% target. 

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte echoed Carney’s assessment, saying Trump had accomplished what multiple U.S. presidents had sought for decades.

“President Trump has been able to finally get done what, since Eisenhower, American presidents tried to do, which was to equalize defence spending between Europe and the United States,” Rutte said during opening remarks.

Canada has announced a series of new defense investments this week, including a submarine procurement program, an agreement to use Telesat’s Lightspeed satellite constellation for secure Arctic military communications, and an approximately $800 million contract for Joint Strike Missiles for Canada’s future fighter aircraft.

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Carney said Canada was spending about 1.4% of its gross domestic product on defense when his government took office and is on track to reach 4% before the end of the decade under NATO’s accounting standards.

The comments come after years of Trump arguing that NATO members were relying too heavily on the United States for their defense and should contribute a larger share toward the alliance’s collective security.