Should NATO be pay-to-protect?

NATO was formed after World War 2 as a collective security alliance that would prevent future world wars. But President Trump sees NATO more like a transaction between countries where allies have to pay up or be left undefended. On today’s episode: How NATO is actually funded, why this longstanding alliance is under strain, and how the U.S. could pay the cost for these frayed relationships.<br /><br />Fact checking by <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez" target="_blank">Sierra Juarez</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Your Next Listen</strong><br /><br />— <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/27/1234145477/nato-new-relationship-trump-america" target="_blank">Europe's NATO members take an economic hit<br /><br /></a><strong>Connect with The Indicator </strong><br />— Sign up for the <a href="https://npr.org/indicatornewsletter" target="_blank">Indicator’s brand new newsletter</a> <br />— Find our <a href="https://linktr.ee/indicator_npr" target="_blank">socials, newsletter, YouTube and more</a>!<br />— For sponsor-free episodes, <a href="http://plus.npr.org" target="_blank">subscribe to PlanetMoney+</a> <br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>