President Donald Trump is traveling to Ankara, Turkey, for the annual NATO summit. As leaders gather, they are preparing for a summit shaped as much by managing President Trump as by the alliance's security agenda. Trump suggested he might have skipped the summit entirely were it not being hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Following his push last year for NATO allies to spend more on defense, Trump's mission this year is to try to enforce those pledges. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stated that allies boosting defense spending under pressure from Trump reflects growing pains, not a crisis.
Additionally, Trump's team is pushing for NATO members to make even bigger changes. These changes would allow the United States to turn its attention from Europe to other parts of the globe.