That Donald Trump does not want to bankroll European security is not a surprise.
But the stark tone of his defence secretary – saying the US cannot be “primarily focused on the security of Europe” – will still send shock waves through the alliance.
Yet London, Paris, Berlin and elsewhere have no one else to blame but themselves for leaving their respective nations to be hopelessly over-reliant on US military support instead of funding their own militaries to ensure they are credible and have the capacity to fight.
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Mr Trump‘s stark threats during his first term in office to withdraw the US from NATO altogether, unless other member states start taking on a fairer share of the burden of European security, should have been enough to jump-start a push to rebuild European militaries – hollowed out during decades of cost-saving cuts since the end of the Cold War.
They did not.
European allies had an even bigger wake-up call on 24 February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is not a NATO ally.
The eruption of the biggest conflict in Europe since the Second World War did prompt the UK and other European states to talk much tougher on the need to bolster their defences – but even then the change in the most part has been far too slow relative to the threat.
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So here the UK and other European allies are all, once again, facing the wrath of an even more robust, self-interested White House, with Pete Hegseth, the new defence secretary, delivering his boss’s message that Washington has bigger priorities than protecting Europe.
Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, understands the need to respond credibly to the US warning signs.
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Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, he said he expects allies to increase defence spending to “north of 3%” of GDP “rather sooner than later”.
That is less than a 5% target put forward by Mr Trump, but it would at least be a step in the right direction, not just to keep the US committed to NATO, but to enable allies to rebuild their armies, navies and air forces they need to deter Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
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Repeated American administrations – not just the two Trump eras – have criticised the vast majority of NATO allies for cutting investment in their armed forces and instead reaping the benefits of a so-called peace dividend following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The difference with Mr Trump is that he is far blunter with his words and also a lot less committed to the transatlantic bond of security developed during two world wars.
It means that his threats not to come to the aid of a NATO ally if it fails to spend enough on defence are not just empty rhetoric but a genuine threat.
Such language also undermines the fundamental principle of the alliance – that an attack against one member state is regarded as an attack on all.
The only response for Europe now is finally to get serious when it comes to its own defence.
