Trump Hijacks NATO Summit, Ends Iran Ceasefire
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- Trump declared the Iran ceasefire 'over' and called talks with Tehran 'a waste of time,' suggesting the U.S. could take out 'every single bridge in Iran' as Washington and Tehran lurched toward renewed war.
- Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain, calling the country 'hopeless' for refusing to let the U.S. use its military bases to strike Iran — the move that put the Iran grudge at the center of the Ankara summit.
- Trump renewed his demand to acquire Greenland, floated removing 'all of our soldiers out of Europe,' and praised China's Xi Jinping while cozyng up to Turkey's Erdoğan over Israel's objections.
- Trump told Ukrainian President Zelensky the U.S. will license Ukraine to manufacture its own Patriot air-defense interceptors — described as the summit's most concrete win and a capability Kyiv has sought for years.
- NATO members nonetheless reaffirmed their commitment to collective defense and pledged 'unwavering support' including security funding for Ukraine, with Secretary-General Mark Rutte insisting the alliance emerged stronger.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the performance as a 'marathon, high-energy' delivery across four press availabilities, saying Trump 'commanded every room' and 'gave our allies some much-needed tough love.'
- Trump has separately waged a running campaign to humiliate European leaders, posting a meme captioned 'restraining order needed' about Italy's Meloni and pre-announcing British PM Starmer's resignation a day before Starmer confirmed it.
Why it matters: The theatrics grabbed the cameras, but the material shift is the ongoing drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe — which the article calls the biggest change in the continent's defense posture since the Cold War — meaning allies face a structural security realignment even as Trump publicly frames the summit as a win.
