I have read several articles in which authors have claimed Trump threatened not to defend NATO allies unless they paid up. They are treating this as extortion, and they are simply wrong. Here is an example in the Washington Post.
The "paying" in question is whether the nation is meeting its treaty-required expenditure of at least 2% of GDP on defense. Actually, two of the NATO countries sharing a border with Russia (or Belaurus) do spend at least 2% on defense - Poland and Estonia - because they're worried about Putin's "little green men." See a NATO document for 2015 for details.
The U.S., Greece, and Great Britain are the other three in compliance, for a total of five compliant nations. The other 22 nations are not living up to their treaty obligations, allowing the U.S. to carry them.
Trump makes a good point. These nations are free loading off our generosity, they are scofflaws. Their failure to spend 2% of GDP on defense weakens the whole alliance. They need to pony up or deal with the alternative, which for many could be the threat of Putin's tender mercy.
We have carried them for nearly 70 years, since 1949 for the original members. Enough, already. It's time for France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, etc. to put on their big-boy pants - pull their weight in a dangerous world - or trust their fate to the kindness of rude strangers. Expect them to whine like anything at the prospect.
