Trump berates NATO, praises Turkey’s Erdogan as summit starts
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- Trump arrived in Ankara on July 7, 2026, for a NATO summit, personally greeted by Turkish President Erdogan on the tarmac and escorted through empty streets by a guard of white-horsed riders.
- Trump told reporters he was "very disappointed with NATO," suggested he might not have attended without Erdogan's hosting, and praised their "chemistry" while slamming allies over the Iran war.
- Trump said Washington would consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey — ejected from the program in 2019 over Ankara's purchase of a Russian air-defense system — and Erdogan confirmed Trump "personally given us his word" on the matter.
- Italy, Germany, and France were publicly named by Trump as allies who "turned us down" for base access during the Iran conflict, a "test" he said NATO had failed; he also reiterated that Greenland "should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark."
- NATO allies unveiled tens of billions in arms deals ahead of the summit to demonstrate progress on last year's defense-spending pledge, with NATO chief Mark Rutte saying European countries are "delivering" on bolstering military budgets.
- Zelenskyy used the summit to renew Ukraine's bid to join NATO — a door Trump previously shut — and urged allies to boost air-defense supplies, while Trump said he spoke to Putin and expects to meet Zelenskyy Wednesday, adding "I think something's going to come out."
Why it matters: Turkey rejoining the F-35 program would reverse a 2019 US penalty and lift sanctions blocking Turkish defense projects, while Trump's public singling-out of Italy, Germany, and France for denying base access during the Iran war deepens the transatlantic rifts NATO had hoped his Erdogan rapport would smooth over.
