From WNYC, I'm Brian Laird.

This is my daily politics podcast.

It's Thursday, July 9th.

So the way the NATO summit ended in Turkey yesterday between President Trump and European leaders,

maybe you could hear it one of two ways,

as a kind of new love affair or maybe the beginning of an amicable divorce.

President Trump at a closing news conference made it sound like after all the harsh things he's had to say

about the U.S.'s European allies, they're weak, NATO is obsolete. They're ripping off the United States by not

funding their own militaries enough, by climate policy. They're cowards or disloyal for not joining

the war with Iran. You've heard that one recently. Despite all that, at the end of this week's summit,

Trump said, love was in the air. Lots of love, much of it directed toward him.

They liked the job I'm doing. They said, we love, sir, we love you.

He's a grown people saying that. Isn't that nice? Maybe, I don't know, maybe they're trying

to get to me. And in a way they did, because there was tremendous unity in that room.

Trump before leaving Turkey yesterday, and here's Mark Ruta, if you think Trump is off on his own private island with that,

NATO Secretary General Mark Ruda yesterday basically saying, hey, Mr. Trump, you were right about us ripping you off. Thank you for that.

President Trump has been able to finally get done what since Eisenhower American presidents

tried to do, which was to equalize defense spending between Europe and the United States.

It is now happening.

We'll hear another clip of the NATO Secretary General

in the context of the Iran War starting up again,

but is less European dependence on the U.S. military

...