Donald Trump lashes out at allies before Nato summit, singling out Emmanuel Macron’s ‘nasty’ comments

US president demanded that Europe pay more for defence and make concessions to US interests on trade

Divisions have opened elsewhere ahead of Nato’s 70th anniversary, with Turkey vowing to oppose Nato plans to defend Baltic countries

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US President Donald Trump (right) meets French President Emmanuel Macron at Winfield House in London on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Published: 8:09pm, 3 Dec 2019Updated: 1:13am, 4 Dec 2019

US President Donald Trump launched an angry broadside against his European allies ahead of a Nato summit in London on Tuesday, singling out France’s Emmanuel Macron for “very nasty” comments on the alliance and Germany for spending too little on defence.

Underlining the breadth of strife in a transatlantic bloc hailed by its backers as the most successful military alliance in history, Trump demanded that Europe pay more for its collective defence and also make concessions to US interests on trade.

The attack echoed a tirade by Trump ahead of Nato’s July 2018 summit. It will add to the growing doubts over the future of the bloc, described by Macron as “brain dead” in the run-up to a London meeting intended to be a 70th anniversary celebration.

“It’s a tough statement, though, when you make a statement like that, that is a very, very nasty statement to essentially 28, including them, 28 countries,” Trump told reporters as he met the head of Nato in London.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US President Donald Trump are pictured at Winfield House in London. Photo: AP

In an interview with The Economist last month, Macron made headlines by faulting Nato for failing to update its strategy to respond to newer threats such as instability in Syria.