President Donald J. Trump came into office as a businessman in the real estate industry. He began his career with one million in seed money from his father. Some say he is worth as much as seven billion today. He has had numerous different types of business ventures over the years, and his success rate is over 99%.

Years ago, during an appearance on TV talk shows such as the Oprah Winfrey Show, Trump was interviewed about how he would solve the many problems faced by America. He approached the country’s problems from the perspective of a businessman rather than a politician. If something is not working, you stop doing it, and work out another way to succeed. One of those areas he has been critical about is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 32 member states, 30 in Europe and 2 in North America that is supposed to pay a stated percentage of their GDP to the organization. Trump had observed, over the years, that member states failed to pay what they owe. In general they are supposed to spend anywhere from 2 to 3.5 percent of their GDP for NATO military defense depending on the country population and GDP.

Trump observed that America pays for about 2/3 of the NATO budget year after year.

Given this history and the billions of dollars spent, it is little wonder that President Trump gets beyond annoyed when NATO member countries as they refuse to contribute to their own overall defense and welfare.

“Hannity: NATO in Europe is FINISHED” – FOX News

This past week President Trump asked for the NATO allies to help patrol the Strait of Hormuz, and they all refused. Trump took to the media to shame them publicly and that’s what it took to turn things around. They reversed their positions fairly quickly when they realized Trump meant business.

“NATO chief backs US strikes on Iran after Trump unleashed on unsupportive allies” – Sky News Australia

CONCLUSION:

According to Sean Hannity, on Fox News, “NATO in Europe is finished!

For decades NATO nations in Europe have taken advantage of the American people, as U.S. defense spending eclipses all the rest of NATO combined. The U.S. is also the largest source of funding for the war in Ukraine.

Yet when we ask for a relatively small show of support, like helping secure the Straight of Hormuz in order to secure their energy, many of these NATO countries refused our request.

NATO is nothing without the U.S. and NATO countries are collapsing due to many factors, including unfettered immigration, and they have embraced radical socialism and climate environmentalism.

What happened to those European nations who fought with us in World War I and World War II?

Members of the left are chanting that “Trump is turning our NATO allies against us!”

However, these people have proven themselves gutless freeloaders, and here is a reality check for all of them – Less than 2% of American oil comes through the Strait of Hormuz! Much more of that oil is headed to China and Europe. Good luck if we walk away from protecting you.

“I Exposed the Islamic Takeover of the UK” – Nate Friedman

The expression “United we stand, divided we fall,” from John Dickinson’s 1768 “Liberty Song” applies well here. Our NATO “allies” would do well to remember this and understand that Americans are about finished with supporting them.

© 2026 by Mark S. Schwendau

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Thinking Conservative.