NATO chief may have to match his made-for-Trump sales pitch to keep a summit on the rails

NATO chief may have to match his made-for-Trump sales pitch to keep a summit on the rails 1 of 5 | NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 2 of 5 | President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 3 of 5 | President Donald Trump listens as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 4 of 5 | NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 5 of 5 | NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prepares to deliver an address during the America 250 event in Brussels, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) 1 of 5 | NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 1 of 5 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 2 of 5 President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | President Donald Trump listens as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 3 of 5 President Donald Trump listens as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 4 of 5 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prepares to deliver an address during the America 250 event in Brussels, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) 5 of 5 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prepares to deliver an address during the America 250 event in Brussels, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Since he started work as NATO secretary-general almost two years ago, Mark Rutte has spent much of his time trying to keep the United States anchored to the world’s biggest military alliance, employing outright flattery to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from acting on threats to abandon it.But the goalposts keep shifting, raising the stakes ahead of this week’s summit in Turkey.Initially, it was about money. Trump has long railed against NATO allies for spending too small a fraction of their national budgets on defense. But those problems were addressed at their summit last year, when U.S. allies committed to invest as much as America, in gross domestic product terms. NATO’s real problem now is turning that money into military capabilities, particularly as European countries worry about a possible attack from Russia. Still, Rutte tried to put to bed any lingering concerns at a White House meeting last month, with a new pitch using a chart labeled the “The Trump Trillion” in gold letters — showing $1.2 trillion in spending by European allies and Canada since 2017.