'I totally agree with him' - NATO secretary cosigns Trump's demands for more spending
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted that the organization "can do more" in efforts to combat international terrorism and increase investments into defense expenditures - a topic President Donald Trump routinely grumbled over during the 2016 presidential election.
Currently, only five of the 28 member countries are spending the stated goal of at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense.
"[Trump] said that he would like NATO to do more, and I totally agree with him," said Stoltenberg to Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "The Situation Room" Wednesday.
When pressed for a timeframe about when other countries should start contributing their share, Stoltenberg said that he expected all NATO allies to spend at least 2% "within a decade."
His comments came shortly after a joint news conference with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, where Trump seemed to take a different stance on his previous opinion of NATO - the transatlantic alliance that he has criticized for not contributing enough to help fight the war on terror.
"I said it was obsolete," Trump said in reference to his prior remarks. "It's no longer obsolete."
"I trust his very strong commitment to NATO," said Stoltenberg about Trump. "He has shown it not only in words, but also in deeds."