Donald Trump proposed that Norway be excluded from NATO because the U.S. president did not believe the nation was paying its way, the alliance’s former chief Jens Stoltenberg has revealed in an upcoming book. 

The Norwegian leader of the alliance who stepped down from his post as secretary general in 2024 said that in 2018, during Trump’s first presidential term, he had feared that an alliance meeting was the one in which “NATO perishes.” The Norwegian leader of the alliance who stepped down from his post as secretary general in 2024 said that in 2018, during Trump’s first presidential term, he had feared that an alliance meeting was the one in which “NATO perishes.” 

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.

Why It Matters 

Stoltenberg’s book, On My Watch, Leading NATO in a Time of War, details his decade as secretary-general of NATO at a time when the leader of its most powerful member was openly criticizing the alliance.  

Trump has long complained that NATO’s European members were not paying the alliance target of two percent of GDP and has cast doubt on whether the U.S. would step in if members were attacked. Stoltenberg’s book is likely to add to concerns about Washington’s commitment to the alliance.  

What To Know

Stoltenberg’s book, as reported by Norwegian media, described how he wanted to establish a good relationship with Trump after he won the U.S. presidential election in 2016, having criticized NATO as “obsolete” on the campaign trail. 

The pair first spoke on November 18, 2016 when Trump said he was a “big fan” of NATO but became more combative toward the alliance over time, mostly due to the defense budgets of its European members which did not meet the target of two percent of their GDP. 

Stoltenberg wrote that he was worried what was in store during an alliance summit on May 25, 2017 following a meeting the pair had in the White House. 

Trump had cast doubt on whether the U.S. would come to the aid of NATO members if they were subjected to a military attack, and during the summit Stoltenberg became concerned the U.S leader had complained about paying more than other members. 

Stoltenberg said that the summit prompted most European NATO countries to think cooperation with the U.S. should be given a lower priority until there was a new leader in the White House because “in their eyes Trump was too erratic.” 

But Stoltenberg wanted it differently, although before the 2018 summit he described how, in a White House meeting, Trump floated whether Norway could be kicked out of the alliance because it did not spend two percent of its GDP on defense. 

“Can Norway have a Swedish model if they don’t pay?” Trump said, according to Stoltenberg, referring to Sweden’s then non-member status and as such, looser alliance with NATO at the time, although Stockholm became a full member in 2024. 

Stoltenberg described how he feared that NATO could “go to pieces” after Trump’s speech at the 2018 summit in which he threatened to withdraw U.S. support unless European allies increased defense budgets.  

The former NATO chief said it could have been the meeting where NATO perished and while the alliance would not be formally dissolved, it would no longer had any significance because without U.S. backing, the NATO treaty and its security guarantees “are not worth much.”  

European leaders soon pledged faster increases in defense spending and Stoltenberg said he “felt indescribable relief” when the divisions between the U.S. leader and European countries were eased, although far from solved.  

What People Are Saying 

Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in his book as cited by Norwegian media: “This could be the meeting where NATO perishes, I thought. It worked for 70 years. But not after July 12, 2018. It happened on my watch.”  

He added: “If an American president says he will no longer defend other allies and leaves a NATO summit in protest, then the NATO treaty and the security guarantee are not worth much.” 

What Happens Next 

Trump is likely to continue to push the alliance toward more self-reliance, especially in Eastern Europe, with all members now meeting the two percent target. 

Since Stoltenberg stepped down in November 2024, Trump has further reshaped NATO’s defense spending expectations in 2025, pushing allies at the alliance’s summit in The Hague in June 2025 toward a new benchmark 5 percent of GDP by 2035.