02:28Mandatory credit: Hudson Institute
US House Speaker Mike Johnson hit out at NATO countries that weren't 'spending at least two percent on defence' during his foreign policy speech at the Hudson Institute on Tuesday, ahead of this week's 75th alliance Summit in Washington DC.
"There's 10 or 12 of them that aren't doing that yet. It's no longer acceptable that not all NATO members have reached their current commitment," he stated. "It may even need to be closer to levels during the Cold War, but if we're all going to enjoy a future of peace and prosperity, we all need to have skin in the game."
"Donald Trump says this as bluntly as anyone, it's just, it's just right and fair for us to demand that others do their part," he added.
Johnson specifically singled out Canada for condemnation.
"I mean, by contrast, shamefully, Canada announced in the last few days or last couple of days, they won't be ponying up. They're not gonna do their 2% why? Talk about riding on America's coattail," he said.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced during his visit to Washington last month, that a record number of 23 NATO countries out of the 32 had met the alliance's defence spending target of two percent of their GDP.
According to reports, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain are among the lowest spenders. On Monday, Canada's Defence Minister Bill Blair said the country would share a 'credible, verifiable plan' with allies.
The 75th NATO Summit in DC begins on Tuesday and continues until July 11, with leaders expected to focus on the Ukraine conflict among other issues.
According to media reports, Kiev is expected to be told it is 'too corrupt' to join the alliance at the current time, while there is also set to be opposition to outgoing Secretary General Stoltenberg's plan for a 'multi-year' military funding package for Ukraine - widely seen as a way to negate the impact of a potential Trump presidency.
'We all need to have skin in the game!' - US House Speaker Johnson tells NATO allies to pay up ahead of DC Summit
US House Speaker Mike Johnson hit out at NATO countries that weren't 'spending at least two percent on defence' during his foreign policy speech at the Hudson Institute on Tuesday, ahead of this week's 75th alliance Summit in Washington DC.
"There's 10 or 12 of them that aren't doing that yet. It's no longer acceptable that not all NATO members have reached their current commitment," he stated. "It may even need to be closer to levels during the Cold War, but if we're all going to enjoy a future of peace and prosperity, we all need to have skin in the game."
"Donald Trump says this as bluntly as anyone, it's just, it's just right and fair for us to demand that others do their part," he added.
Johnson specifically singled out Canada for condemnation.
"I mean, by contrast, shamefully, Canada announced in the last few days or last couple of days, they won't be ponying up. They're not gonna do their 2% why? Talk about riding on America's coattail," he said.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced during his visit to Washington last month, that a record number of 23 NATO countries out of the 32 had met the alliance's defence spending target of two percent of their GDP.
According to reports, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain are among the lowest spenders. On Monday, Canada's Defence Minister Bill Blair said the country would share a 'credible, verifiable plan' with allies.
The 75th NATO Summit in DC begins on Tuesday and continues until July 11, with leaders expected to focus on the Ukraine conflict among other issues.
According to media reports, Kiev is expected to be told it is 'too corrupt' to join the alliance at the current time, while there is also set to be opposition to outgoing Secretary General Stoltenberg's plan for a 'multi-year' military funding package for Ukraine - widely seen as a way to negate the impact of a potential Trump presidency.
Mandatory credit: Hudson Institute
US House Speaker Mike Johnson hit out at NATO countries that weren't 'spending at least two percent on defence' during his foreign policy speech at the Hudson Institute on Tuesday, ahead of this week's 75th alliance Summit in Washington DC.
"There's 10 or 12 of them that aren't doing that yet. It's no longer acceptable that not all NATO members have reached their current commitment," he stated. "It may even need to be closer to levels during the Cold War, but if we're all going to enjoy a future of peace and prosperity, we all need to have skin in the game."
"Donald Trump says this as bluntly as anyone, it's just, it's just right and fair for us to demand that others do their part," he added.
Johnson specifically singled out Canada for condemnation.
"I mean, by contrast, shamefully, Canada announced in the last few days or last couple of days, they won't be ponying up. They're not gonna do their 2% why? Talk about riding on America's coattail," he said.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced during his visit to Washington last month, that a record number of 23 NATO countries out of the 32 had met the alliance's defence spending target of two percent of their GDP.
According to reports, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain are among the lowest spenders. On Monday, Canada's Defence Minister Bill Blair said the country would share a 'credible, verifiable plan' with allies.
The 75th NATO Summit in DC begins on Tuesday and continues until July 11, with leaders expected to focus on the Ukraine conflict among other issues.
According to media reports, Kiev is expected to be told it is 'too corrupt' to join the alliance at the current time, while there is also set to be opposition to outgoing Secretary General Stoltenberg's plan for a 'multi-year' military funding package for Ukraine - widely seen as a way to negate the impact of a potential Trump presidency.