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Live Updates: Trump Is in Brussels, and NATO Officials Are Anxious Live Updates: Trump Is in Brussels, and NATO Officials Are Anxious
(35 minutes later)
• President Trump is in Brussels on Thursday, on the fourth leg of a grueling first overseas trip as head of state. He will have meetings with NATO leaders over which, analysts say, anxiety is high but expectations are low. • President Trump is in Brussels on Thursday, on the fourth leg of a grueling first overseas trip as head of state. He will meet with NATO leaders, and analysts say anxiety is high but expectations are low. It is his first visit to the Belgian capital — headquarters of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — since calling it a “hellhole” after coordinated suicide bombings there last year.
• It is his first visit to the Belgian capital — headquarters of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — since calling it a “hellhole” after coordinated suicide bombings there last year. • Mr. Trump’s arrival was greeted by scattered protests and a sign saying, “Resist” near the United States Embassy.
• High on the agenda will be a summit meeting with European Union leaders including Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission. Mr. Trump will also have a working lunch with President Emmanuel Macron of France. • In the wake of Mr. Trump’s criticism that the alliance should do more against terrorism, NATO announced that it would formally join the fight against the Islamic State.
• European leaders’ main hope is that Mr. Trump will explicitly endorse Article 5 of the Atlantic alliance’s founding treaty, which states the principle that an attack on any member is an attack on all. As a candidate, Mr. Trump called the alliance “obsolete,” but he has since reversed course. • High on his agenda is a summit meeting with European Union leaders including Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission.
• In the wake of Mr. Trump’s criticism that the alliance should do more against terrorism, NATO has announced that it would formally join the fight against the Islamic State. • European leaders’ main hope is that Mr. Trump will explicitly endorse Article 5 of the Atlantic alliance’s founding treaty, which states the principle that an attack on any member is an attack on all.
If there’s any real drama in Mr. Trump’s visit, besides wondering if he will go off script, it will be his comments when he unveils a 9/11 memorial — a piece of twisted metal from the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks — outside the Atlantic alliance’s new building. If there’s any real drama in Mr. Trump’s visit, besides wondering if he will go off script, it will be his comments when he unveils a 9/11 memorial — a piece of twisted metal from the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks — outside NATO’s new building.
(Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will unveil a chunk of the Berlin Wall, which came down in 1989, to symbolize how the alliance kept the peace during the Cold War. Potentially awkward: Mrs. Merkel will meet former President Barack Obama before meeting Mr. Trump.)(Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will unveil a chunk of the Berlin Wall, which came down in 1989, to symbolize how the alliance kept the peace during the Cold War. Potentially awkward: Mrs. Merkel will meet former President Barack Obama before meeting Mr. Trump.)
While Mr. Trump has decided that the alliance isn’t really obsolete, as he once said, he has never publicly committed to Article 5, which binds every member to collective defense. His vice president and defense secretary have done so, but Mr. Trump has been alarmingly silent on the issue. While Mr. Trump has decided that the alliance isn’t really obsolete, as he once said, he has never publicly committed to Article 5. His vice president and defense secretary have done so, but Mr. Trump has been alarmingly silent on the issue.
But he is expected to do so on Thursday, White House officials told reporters on the trip, since the only time NATO has ever invoked Article 5 was to defend the United States after the 9/11 attacks. More than 1,000 non-American soldiers from NATO countries have died in Afghanistan in the name of Article 5. But he is expected to finally do so on Thursday, White House officials said, since the only time NATO has ever invoked Article 5 was to defend the United States after the 9/11 attacks. More than 1,000 non-American soldiers from NATO countries have died in Afghanistan in the name of Article 5.
But one never knows exactly what Mr. Trump will say, and NATO officials will not breathe easy until Mr. Trump actually utters the words, which are expected to be part of his scripted comments. Of course, NATO leaders would also like him to say something critical about Russia and its annexation of Ukraine, but Mr. Trump has been pretty quiet on that topic, too. But one never knows exactly what Mr. Trump will say, and NATO officials will not breathe easy until Mr. Trump actually utters the words. Of course, NATO leaders would also like him to say something critical about Russia and its annexation of Ukraine, but Mr. Trump has been pretty quiet on that topic, too.
—Steven Erlanger—Steven Erlanger
In the wake of Mr. Trump’s criticism that the Atlantic alliance should do more against terrorism, its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has announced that the alliance would join the global coalition fighting the Islamic State militants, another gesture toward Mr. Trump. In the wake of Mr. Trump’s criticism that the Atlantic alliance should do more against terrorism, its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has announced that the alliance would join the global coalition that is fighting Islamic State militants, another gesture toward Mr. Trump.
“This will send a strong political message of NATO’s commitment to the fight against terrorism,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. But a message is what it mostly was. The United States, after all, formed the coalition, which it leads and runs out of its military headquarters, without input from NATO, though numerous member nations are also part of the coalition fighting the Islamic State. “This will send a strong political message of NATO’s commitment to the fight against terrorism,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. But a message is what it mostly was. The United States, after all, formed the coalition, which it leads and runs out of its military headquarters, without major NATO input, though numerous member nations are also part of the coalition fighting the Islamic State.
NATO has had a small mission in Iraq to train soldiers there and will enhance it, but will much change now it has agreed to formally join the coalition? Probably not.NATO has had a small mission in Iraq to train soldiers there and will enhance it, but will much change now it has agreed to formally join the coalition? Probably not.
—Steven Erlanger
Simply put: More Mike Pence.Simply put: More Mike Pence.
Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said at a news conference on Wednesday that she would welcome the same “message of continuity” about trans-Atlantic cooperation that Vice President Pence brought by visiting Brussels in February, soon after Mr. Trump took office.Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said at a news conference on Wednesday that she would welcome the same “message of continuity” about trans-Atlantic cooperation that Vice President Pence brought by visiting Brussels in February, soon after Mr. Trump took office.
Mr. Pence’s visit was “a clear sign” of “willingness to work together,” Ms. Mogherini said.Mr. Pence’s visit was “a clear sign” of “willingness to work together,” Ms. Mogherini said.
Her comments represent a widely held hope in Brussels that Mr. Trump will avoid bashing the European project in favor of constructive dialogue on global challenges.Her comments represent a widely held hope in Brussels that Mr. Trump will avoid bashing the European project in favor of constructive dialogue on global challenges.
Ms. Mogherini, accompanied by Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament, will attend a meeting on Thursday morning along with Mr. Trump, Mr. Tusk and Mr. Juncker.Ms. Mogherini, accompanied by Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament, will attend a meeting on Thursday morning along with Mr. Trump, Mr. Tusk and Mr. Juncker.
Ms. Mogherini said she wanted Mr. Trump to discuss carrying out the Paris agreement on climate change, which in the past he has previously threatened to abandon, and investing in multilateral organizations like the United Nations, where the Trump administration wants further funding cuts.Ms. Mogherini said she wanted Mr. Trump to discuss carrying out the Paris agreement on climate change, which in the past he has previously threatened to abandon, and investing in multilateral organizations like the United Nations, where the Trump administration wants further funding cuts.
Even if the Trump administration was set on revising American policies, Ms. Mogherini said, it was important to have “an open and constructive dialogue.”Even if the Trump administration was set on revising American policies, Ms. Mogherini said, it was important to have “an open and constructive dialogue.”
—James Kanter—James Kanter
Ahead of the NATO meeting, President Trump met the Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, on Wednesday and spoke at a news conference in which he denounced those who were behind the bombing attack in Manchester, England, that left 22 people dead, including children, and about 60 others injured. Ahead of the NATO meeting, Mr. Trump met the Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, on Wednesday and spoke at a news conference in which he denounced those who were behind the bombing attack in Manchester, England, that left 22 people dead, including children, and about 60 others injured.
Amid the pomp and ceremony and red carpet unfurled for his arrival, ordinary Belgians gave Mr. Trump a chilly reception, however.
Thousands marched on Wednesday to protest his presence, carrying signs that read, “Solidarity with the women of the whole world” and “Trump go away.”
Activists climbed a crane to hoist a sign saying, “RESIST” near the American Embassy.
And the famous concert hall Ancienne Belgique put up a sign that said, “Don’t duck for Donald.”
—Claire Barthelemy
Mr. Trump’s formal introduction to the complexities of the European Union began with a cordial handshake a walk through a forest of flags.
Met by Mr. Tusk, the president of the European Council, the American president was guided along a red carpet through the newly completed headquarters of the bloc, where each of the 28 member states flies its national flag. (Britain, of course, is negotiating its divorce from the bloc.)
The building, called the Europa, is meant to represent a fresh start for the Union, the organization that Mr. Trump has called into question with his support for Britain’s decision to leave and for populist Eurosceptics like Marine Le Pen, the French leader of the far-right National Front.
Mr. Tusk, a former Polish prime minister and a staunch defender of democracy and openness, was expected to meet with Mr. Trump and Mr. Juncker for about an hour. Mr. Tusk, who warned this year that Mr. Trump was threatening Europe’s stability, made his priorities for the meeting clear at a prize-giving ceremony the previous evening.
It was, Mr. Tusk told his audience, “important to keep our relations with the United States as close as possible and as long as possible — at least for as long as this value remains a priority also on the other side of the Atlantic.”
Mr. Tusk said he would try to convince Mr. Trump “that euroatlantism is primarily cooperation of the free for the sake of freedom; that if we want to prevent the scenario that has already been named by our opponents not so long ago in Munich as the ‘post-West world order,’ we should watch over our legacy of freedom together.”
—James Kanter