The US President at the NATO summit in Ankara.Image: keystone
Not much of the desired harmony remained: US President Donald Trump disrupted the big NATO meeting in Turkey with public attacks on allies.
July 8, 2026, 9:16 p.mJuly 8, 2026, 9:16 p.m
Remo Hess, Ankara / ch media
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has a talent for rhetorical errors: just a few days ago he received a lot of ridicule for his praise of the German football team after they were eliminated from the World Cup so early against Paraguay. On Wednesday, at the start of the NATO summit in Turkey, Merz spoke of the good “spirit of Ankara,” which would make the defense alliance “stronger and more united.”
Really? In public, at least, exactly the opposite image emerged. Donald Trump is to blame for this.
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.Image: keystone
During his first appearance in the morning alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the US President began to burst into anger. The Iran deal? Finished. Why? Because you can’t do business with the “scum” and the “liars” in Tehran. The Iranian mullahs are “crazy” and negotiations with them are a “waste of time.”
Greenland Trauma is back
But Trump didn’t hold back with his NATO allies either. First up was Spain. The Spaniards are “terrible allies”, “bad people” even. They would not pay anything in NATO and would have refused him allegiance to Iran. «It’s pointless. I don’t want to have anything to do with them anymore,” said Trump and gave the order to his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was present: “Stop all trade with Spain. Immediately.” How this is to be accomplished remains unclear, of course. As part of the EU, Trump cannot individually sanction Spain on trade.
The second issue that bothered Trump was Greenland. For the NATO alliance, Trump’s desire for the Arctic island is highly explosive. When Trump did not want to rule out the use of military force at the beginning of the year, there was an acute mood of crisis. Denmark seriously prepared its soldiers for a military confrontation with America.
Snow-covered houses are seen on the coast of a sea bay in Nuuk, Greenland, March 7, 2025.Image: keystone
Now Trump has renewed his highly explosive claim to ownership. “Greenland brings nothing to Denmark. The USA should control it,” said Trump. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sharply rejected this. “Denmark will defend every inch of NATO territory, including our own,” she said.
It is unknown what was going through the head of NATO Secretary General Rutte, who was sitting right next to him during Trump’s statements. Wherever he could, he intervened as a moderator. Regarding Iran, he said he was aware of Trump’s disappointment with certain allies. But the picture also includes the fact that 5,000 flights for the Iran war took off from US air force bases in Europe. Spain made great progress last year and significantly increased its defense spending.
When it came to Greenland, he recalled that a “deal” had been found at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which meant that the USA could expand its bases at any time. Trump seemed unimpressed. Apparently his mood was and remained decidedly bad that day. At least publicly.
Ukraine gets Patriot license
Behind closed doors, however, the US President is said to have appeared much more conciliatory, much to the surprise of everyone involved. The meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky apparently went well and even ended with a significant concession for Kiev. Trump announced that he would give Ukraine permission to build its own Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. This is a surprise and good news for Ukraine, which suffers from a notorious lack of air defense.
Less good news, at least from Israel’s perspective, is Trump’s promised agreement to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. Something that Ankara has been hoping for and pushing for for a long time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Trump on several occasions, most recently on Tuesday. The Turkish government is a regime enforced by the Muslim Brotherhood that cannot be trusted. If Turkey received F-35 jets, the balance in the Middle East would shift.
In fact, relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated rapidly recently. In June, Erdogan compared Netanyahu to Hitler over his actions in the Gaza Strip. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Israel as a “common problem of humanity” that could no longer be borne. (schweiztoday.ch)