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and more crucially, Russian aggression led to increased military spending…Trump’s threats played a role, but it was Russian aggression that provided the biggest motivation. Here’s an excerpt from the attached article:

“ Trump bragged in last year’s two presidential debates about having convinced, in his first term, NATO allies to increase defense spending. His threats—and, crucially, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine— kicked investment into higher gear. Only four alliance partners met the target of spending 2% of GDP on defense when Trump initially entered the White House. Four years later, nine countries met the threshold; 23 of the now 32 allies did so in 2024. Those facing the greatest security risks, perhaps unsurprisingly, have the highest defense spending, among them eastern flank countries that border Russia. Poland spends more than 4% of its GDP, more, in fact, than the United States. This commitment to rearm and innovate benefits Washington economically and strategically. NATO allies’ defense purchases from American manufacturers grew to $24 billion in 2023, part of a broader 55.9% increase in US foreign military sales over the previous year.”

You’re partially right if you consider threats an effective tactic, however, those threats weren’t the main reason for NATO’s increased military spending. In fact, the spending increased during the Biden admin.