Critics have lambasted President Donald Trump’s tough-love approach to Europe, but the president secured a major victory this week when NATO members agreed to devote more resources to their own defense.

The turnabout is long overdue.

During his first term, Trump blasted members of the alliance for relying too much on the contributions of the United States. As the president’s second term unfolds, NATO members have awakened to the reality that their reluctance to take more responsibility for their own security made them increasingly vulnerable.

“During Trump’s first term, many Europeans assumed it was a parenthesis, and believed the traditional transatlanticism was back forever when (Joe) Biden was elected,” Camille Grand, a NATO assistant secretary-general during Trump’s first term, told The Washington Post. “Now that Trump is back in the White House, Europeans are coming to grips with the fact that there are permanent changes in the United States’ approach to European security.”

As a result, and amid pressure from Trump, NATO’s member countries, meeting this week in the Netherlands, pledged to boost defense spending in coming years to 5 percent of gross domestic product, up from the current target of 2%. This is “exactly what Trump has been demanding over the past several years,” CNN reported.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte noted that the larger financial commitment will result in “a fivefold increase in air defense capabilities … thousands more tanks and armored vehicles” and “millions of rounds of artillery ammunition” as a means of improving Europe’s security. The concessions vindicated Trump’s approach and garnered his enthusiastic approval.

“I watched the heads of these countries get up, and the love and the passion that they showed for their country was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump said after the meetings. “It was great. And I left here differently. I left here saying that these people really love their countries. It’s not a rip-off, and we’re here to help them protect their country.”

The NATO alliance has served the West well for nearly eight decades, helping the United States and Europe weather Cold War tensions. But Europeans had devolved into complacency when it came to protecting their borders, preferring instead to panhandle from American taxpayers rather than divert resources from their fast-growing welfare states.

NATO’s newfound financial commitment sends a significant message to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping while strengthening a vital alliance among Western nations. Credit to Trump for pulling it off.

— From Tribune News Service