NATO chief hails record defense spending and warns that Trump’s remarks undermine security

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says European allies and Canada have ramped up defense spending to record levels. He’s also warning that former U.S. President Donald Trump is undermining their security by calling into question the U.S. commitment to its allies. Stoltenberg said Wednesday that U.S. partners in NATO have spent $600 billion more on their military budgets since 2014. Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula prompted them to reverse spending cuts they made after the Cold War. Its invasion of Ukraine is further focusing minds. Trump says he once warned that he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to NATO members that are “delinquent” in devoting 2% of GDP to defense. Stoltenberg says those kinds of remarks “undermine the security of all of us.”