As Trump's NATO gamble pays off, envoy names allies he's still watching

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker says President Trump's pressure campaign has produced a stronger, more capable alliance, while identifying which allies are leading — and lagging — on defense spending. For years, President Donald Trump has criticized NATO's European allies for relying too heavily on the United States for military defense. Heading into July's NATO summit, disagreements about Iran and defense spending threatened to overshadow what was expected to be a pivotal meeting for the alliance. Instead, Trump administration officials believe the summit showed Trump's yearslong pressure campaign is beginning to pay off. "The summit was a huge success," Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "President Trump has found, I think, a NATO that is more capable and increasingly stronger and is equal