US Media: Trump lists 'good child, bad child' NATO allies for rewards and punishments
The Trump administration is reportedly creating a list classifying NATO allies as 'good' or 'bad' based on their support for the US war on Iran, potentially relocating US troops accordingly.
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- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 12:08
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 12:31 (23 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 16:35 (4h 4m after Collected)
Central News
(CNA, Washington, 22nd, Comprehensive Foreign Dispatch) POLITICO disclosed that the White House is drafting a list of NATO countries classifying them as "good children and bad children," and the Trump administration is looking for ways to punish allies who refuse to support the war on Iran.
POLITICO quoted three European diplomats and one US defense official familiar with the plan as revealing that the approach includes listing the overview of each member state's contributions to NATO to categorize and grade them; this work had already begun before NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Washington this month.
The report stated that this adds pressure to the already tense internal relations of NATO. Internal unity within NATO has been repeatedly impacted since Trump's return, as he threatened to seize Greenland and occasionally threatened to withdraw.
After the US and Israel went to war against Iran on February 28, Trump complained to NATO again because the allies did not provide military support. On March 16, he stated that some European leaders had not expressed due gratitude for everything the US has done to protect the European continent, saying, "I will let you know which countries they are"; on April 17, he posted mocking NATO, "When you really need them, they are useless, just paper tigers!"
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth laid out the general direction in December last year. He said at the time, "Those model allies who stand up, such as Israel, South Korea, Poland, the gradually catching up Germany, the Baltic states, etc., we will look upon them favorably; those allies who still fail to do their duty for collective defense will face consequences."
A diplomat stated that the current list seems to reflect Hegseth's concept, "The White House has a list of good children and bad children, and these lines of thought should be very similar."
Because there is currently no feasible alternative to US troops withdrawing from Europe, any potential plan is likely just to move US troops stationed in Europe from one country to another.
Although it is not yet clear which countries are placed in which category, Romania and Poland are likely to be among the beneficiaries because these two countries are still favored by Trump and also welcome more US troops to be stationed there.
As one of the countries with the highest proportion of defense spending in NATO, Poland currently bears almost all the costs of the 10,000 US troops stationed locally; Romania recently expanded the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base to accommodate more US troops. Romania allows the US to use this base for airstrikes on Iran.
Two European officials familiar with the relevant plans said that the US might withdraw US troops, joint exercises, or arms sales from countries deemed "bad children" and offer them to "good children."
While countries like Spain, the UK, and France are either rejecting or delaying the US request for support, Romania and several smaller countries are allowing the US to use their domestic airbases, and Bulgaria is also keeping a low profile in supporting US logistics in the Middle East.
Spain already had strained relations with the Trump administration due to its opposition at last year's summit to increasing NATO members' defense spending to 5% of GDP, whereas the Baltic states such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland have consistently ranked at the top within NATO in terms of their military spending ratio. (Translated by: Chen Yi-wei) 1150423
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(CNA, Washington, 22nd, Comprehensive Foreign Dispatch) POLITICO disclosed that the White House is drafting a list of NATO countries classifying them as "good children and bad children," and the Trump administration is looking for ways to punish allies who refuse to support the war on Iran.
POLITICO quoted three European diplomats and one US defense official familiar with the plan as revealing that the approach includes listing the overview of each member state's contributions to NATO to categorize and grade them; this work had already begun before NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Washington this month.
The report stated that this adds pressure to the already tense internal relations of NATO. Internal unity within NATO has been repeatedly impacted since Trump's return, as he threatened to seize Greenland and occasionally threatened to withdraw.
After the US and Israel went to war against Iran on February 28, Trump complained to NATO again because the allies did not provide military support. On March 16, he stated that some European leaders had not expressed due gratitude for everything the US has done to protect the European continent, saying, "I will let you know which countries they are"; on April 17, he posted mocking NATO, "When you really need them, they are useless, just paper tigers!"
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth laid out the general direction in December last year. He said at the time, "Those model allies who stand up, such as Israel, South Korea, Poland, the gradually catching up Germany, the Baltic states, etc., we will look upon them favorably; those allies who still fail to do their duty for collective defense will face consequences."
A diplomat stated that the current list seems to reflect Hegseth's concept, "The White House has a list of good children and bad children, and these lines of thought should be very similar."
Because there is currently no feasible alternative to US troops withdrawing from Europe, any potential plan is likely just to move US troops stationed in Europe from one country to another.
Although it is not yet clear which countries are placed in which category, Romania and Poland are likely to be among the beneficiaries because these two countries are still favored by Trump and also welcome more US troops to be stationed there.
As one of the countries with the highest proportion of defense spending in NATO, Poland currently bears almost all the costs of the 10,000 US troops stationed locally; Romania recently expanded the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base to accommodate more US troops. Romania allows the US to use this base for airstrikes on Iran.
Two European officials familiar with the relevant plans said that the US might withdraw US troops, joint exercises, or arms sales from countries deemed "bad children" and offer them to "good children."
While countries like Spain, the UK, and France are either rejecting or delaying the US request for support, Romania and several smaller countries are allowing the US to use their domestic airbases, and Bulgaria is also keeping a low profile in supporting US logistics in the Middle East.
Spain already had strained relations with the Trump administration due to its opposition at last year's summit to increasing NATO members' defense spending to 5% of GDP, whereas the Baltic states such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland have consistently ranked at the top within NATO in terms of their military spending ratio. (Translated by: Chen Yi-wei) 1150423
Choose to stand with the facts. Every sponsorship from you is a force to protect press freedom.
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The text, images, and audio-video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.