Dutch King and NATO Chief toast Trump at pre-NATO summit dinner

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  • Dutch King and NATO Chief toast Trump at pre-NATO summit dinner

US President Donald Trump swept into NATO's Hague summit Tuesday, with allies hoping a pledge to ramp up defense spending will keep the mercurial leader of the military superpower committed to protecting them.

Trump joined leaders from NATO's 31 other members to kick off the two-day gathering with a dinner hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander in the ornate Orange Hall at his royal residence. The alliance hopes to keep Trump bound to its mutual defense vow by meeting his demand for a headline figure of five percent of GDP on defense spending.

But Trump refused to say he was committed to NATO's Article Five clause and protecting Europe in comments that will likely rattle his counterparts on the continent. To keep Trump on board, NATO members have thrashed out a compromise deal to dedicate 3.5 percent to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5 percent to broader security-related areas such as cyber security and infrastructure.

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