Trump plans billions in arms sales as NATO summit tests alliance frayed by Iran war: ‘Daddy isn’t going anywhere’

"Daddy isn't going anywhere." That's the line that's going to follow this summit around, and honestly, it tells you more about the current mood inside NATO than any communique will. Three months ago Trump was floating the idea of walking away entirely. Now he's showing up in Ankara with billions in arms deals in his back pocket. That's not a contradiction, that's leverage, and Europe knows it.

For years the alliance treated American commitment as a given, something owed regardless of who paid what. Trump blew that assumption up, and whatever you think of his style, the burden-sharing numbers moved because of it. Arms sales aren't charity. They're a signal that Washington still sees value in these relationships, but on terms that actually benefit American industry and American leverage, not just European comfort.

The Iran war has everyone jumpy about what NATO is even for anymore, and that's a fair question to ask out loud instead of pretending the alliance runs on autopilot. If members want the guarantee, they can start acting like it costs something. That's not abandonment. That's just honesty nobody wanted to say plainly before.