Trump Walks Back NATO Threats, Takes 'Total Credit' For Spending Boost

President Donald Trump on Thursday capped a tumultuous 24 hours of NATO talks with a press conference that reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the body, which he has attacked repeatedly this week.

After chastising European partners on Wednesday for not spending enough on defense, sparking fears that he could abandon the alliance, Trump changed tack by taking credit for what defense commitments NATO partners had already previously pledged.

NATO countries really stepped up their commitment and stepped it up like they never have before, he added, saying the total spending amount could reach $40 billion and would be officially announced later in the day.

He [NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg] gives us total credit, Trump said, referring to the increase in spending levels. And I guess thats me.

Trump said he let countries know during this weeks summit that he was extremely unhappy. As a result, he continued, NATO is much stronger than it was two days ago.

Stoltenberg specified Wednesday that the bloc was focused on its members increasing their defense spending to two percent of GDP. Trump called that figure amorphous on Thursday.

Despite the presidents comments Thursday, however, NATO members had already previously pledged to incrementally increase to the two percent threshold by 2024 following Russias 2014 invasion of Crimea.

Trump on Wednesday urged NATO members to instead hit their goal immediately and said that it should ultimately go even higher to 4 percent.

French President Emmanuel Macron balked at Trumps suggestions and urged NATO members not to change course at the U.S. presidents behest.

Macron confirmed that France does indeed plan to increase its defense spending to 2 percent, but insisted that it will only do so by the 2024 deadline.

Despite the kind words Trump had for NATO on Thursday, they were reportedly preceded by a contentious set of discussions. Trump attacked allies again over their progress toward spending targets, prompting an emergency, closed-door session of the main allies that excluded other summit participants, according to The Guardian . U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both canceled press conferences as they dealt with the fallout.

Trump on Wednesday blasted U.S. allies and NATO members, accusing Germany of being captive to Russia in an oil and gas deal and asking What good is NATO? on Twitter.

The president has long ranted against U.S. NATO allies, and again accused them this week of not paying their fair share in defense spending.

Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich NATO Nations to pay more toward their protection from Russia. They pay only a fraction of their cost. The U.S. pays tens of Billions of Dollars too much to subsidize Europe, and loses Big on Trade!

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Donald J. Trump","author_url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump","cache_age":86400,"description":"Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich NATO Nations to pay more toward their protection from Russia. They pay only a fraction of their cost. The U.S. pays tens of Billions of Dollars too much to subsidize Europe, and loses Big on Trade! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Donald J. Trump on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1017288317342224384","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5b47291ce4b022fdcc5665be","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/trump-walks-back-nato-threats_n_5b47291ce4b022fdcc5665be","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,united-states,politics-and-government,nato,member-states-of-nato,@developing @breaking,@health_depression,@health_erectile,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"world-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/1ba015b8-bf9d-4940-8ca5-298ec01675c2/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":7},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5b47291ce4b022fdcc5665be","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"united states","slug":"united-states","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/united-states","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states"},"relegenceId":3804968,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"United States","slug":"united-states","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/united-states"},{"name":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics-and-government","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-and-government"},{"name":"NATO","slug":"nato","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/nato","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/nato","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/nato"},"relegenceId":3690607,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"NATO","slug":"nato","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/nato"},{"name":"Member states of NATO","slug":"member-states-of-nato","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/member-states-of-nato","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/member-states-of-nato","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/member-states-of-nato"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/member-states-of-nato"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich NATO Nations to pay more toward their protection from Russia. They pay only a fraction of their cost. The U.S. pays tens of Billions of Dollars too much to subsidize Europe, and loses Big on Trade!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

....On top of it all, Germany just started paying Russia, the country they want protection from, Billions of Dollars for their Energy needs coming out of a new pipeline from Russia. Not acceptable! All NATO Nations must meet their 2% commitment, and that must ultimately go to 4%!

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Donald J. Trump","author_url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump","cache_age":86400,"description":"....On top of it all, Germany just started paying Russia, the country they want protection from, Billions of Dollars for their Energy needs coming out of a new pipeline from Russia. Not acceptable! All NATO Nations must meet their 2% commitment, and that must ultimately go to 4%! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Donald J. Trump on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1017290478839050240","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5b47291ce4b022fdcc5665be","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/trump-walks-back-nato-threats_n_5b47291ce4b022fdcc5665be","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,united-states,politics-and-government,nato,member-states-of-nato,@developing @breaking,@health_depression,@health_erectile,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"world-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/1ba015b8-bf9d-4940-8ca5-298ec01675c2/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":10},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5b47291ce4b022fdcc5665be","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"united states","slug":"united-states","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/united-states","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states"},"relegenceId":3804968,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"United States","slug":"united-states","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/united-states"},{"name":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics-and-government","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-and-government"},{"name":"NATO","slug":"nato","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/nato","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/nato","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/nato"},"relegenceId":3690607,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"NATO","slug":"nato","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/nato"},{"name":"Member states of NATO","slug":"member-states-of-nato","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/member-states-of-nato","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/member-states-of-nato","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/member-states-of-nato"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/member-states-of-nato"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

....On top of it all, Germany just started paying Russia, the country they want protection from, Billions of Dollars for their Energy needs coming out of a new pipeline from Russia. Not acceptable! All NATO Nations must meet their 2% commitment, and that must ultimately go to 4%!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018

Despite his rants, Trump did sign a joint declaration Wednesday reaffirming commitments between NATO members.

Later Thursday, he heads to the United Kingdom for a working visit, where he will almost entirely avoid London .

I think they like me a lot in the U.K., he said during the Thursday news conference. I think they agree with me on immigration.