America’s Foreign Policy Debate: How Much Should the US Lead as Allies Take Greater Responsibility?
Imagine paying most of the bill every time your friend group goes out to dinner, for 75 years. At some point, you’d ask for a fairer split. That’s the mood behind today’s US foreign policy debate.
The Background
The United States has always been NATO’s biggest player. It accounted for about 64 percent of the alliance’s defense spending in 2024. Allies agreed in 2025 to raise core defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2035.
What Happened at the Ankara Summit
At July’s summit in Turkey, Washington pushed allies to move faster toward a 5% goal. The US ambassador to NATO said allies had committed nearly $139 billion in additional spending, roughly half of it on American-made equipment. He also named Germany as a laggard. Allies are responding. Janes reports that average non-US NATO core spending rose from 2.2% of GDP in 2025 to 2.4% in 2026. But the same analysis warns that falling short of the 2035 target will likely keep fueling tension inside the alliance.
Why It Matters
Loyalty is now part of the conversation. Trump has demanded it after some allies refused to let the US use their bases in the war on Iran. Supporters say shared costs make the alliance stronger and ease the load on American taxpayers. Critics worry that pushing too hard could weaken trust, and that more spending doesn’t automatically mean a fairer share of the burden.
The Bottom Line
The question isn’t really whether allies should do more. They already are. It’s whether America should stay the leader, step back into a supporting role, or find something in between.
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