President Donald Trump’s new proposal signals a potential, if paradoxical, evolution from his famous “America First” stance to a new “NATO First” approach, at least tactically. While his ultimate goal is to serve U.S. interests, his chosen method now relies entirely on the collective action of the alliance.
His entire plan is conditional on NATO acting unanimously. The U.S. will not lead on sanctions; it will only act after “all NATO Nations” have banned Russian oil. He is not proposing unilateral U.S. tariffs on China, but rather that NATO should act “as a group.” This is a significant shift from his previous preference for unilateral American action.
This “NATO First” tactic is likely a means to an “America First” end. By forcing the alliance to take on more of the economic burden and risk, he aims to achieve U.S. objectives while conserving American resources, a core tenet of his worldview. He is leveraging the collective power of the alliance to achieve his own goals.
This represents a pragmatic, if temporary, embrace of multilateralism. He has identified that in this specific conflict, the collective economic weight of the entire alliance is a more powerful weapon than America’s alone. It is a transactional use of the alliance, where NATO is seen as the most effective tool to get the job done.