As Donald Trump threatens NATO, the Baltic states stiffen their defences

THE SPECTRE of Donald Trump returned rudely to Europe on February 10th, when the former president told a campaign rally that he would encourage Russia to attack nato allies who did not meet the alliance’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defence. Mr Trump’s message jangled already frayed nerves: in recent weeks, a succession of European defence ministers and spy chiefs have warned that war with Russia is more likely and closer than assumed in the past. “It cannot be ruled out that within a three- to five-year period, Russia will test Article 5 and NATO’s solidarity,” warned Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark’s defence minister, on February 9th. “That was not nato‘s assessment in 2023. This is new information that is coming to the fore now,” he explained.