Donald Trump has never made a secret of how little he appreciates alliances, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is no exception. From the outset, on Tuesday, June 24, just hours before representatives of the 32 NATO member states gathered at a gala dinner, hosted by the king of the Netherlands in The Hague, the Dutch administrative capital, ahead of their annual summit, the United States president chilled the mood among the NATO allies.

While aboard Air Force One, the presidential plane, Trump was questioned about the US stance on the importance of the mutual defense clause in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty – which provides for allies to automatically respond in the event of one member being attacked. He replied, in his usual provocative manner: "It depends on your definition. There's numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right?"

Admittedly, legal experts within NATO have long debated how robust Article 5 is, but it remains one of the alliance's core values. Indeed, as the NATO allies gathered in The Hague, preparing to ratify an increase in their minimum defense spending target, taking it to 5% of GDP, up from the current 2% threshold, they were caught off guard. While they were willing to accept this demand from Trump, they expected, in return, a clear US commitment to upholding Article 5. In Brussels, this give-and-take deal was even referred to as "5 for 5."

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