Trump effect forces Germany to reprioritize defense as nation plays catch-up in military spending

President Donald Trump’s continued criticism of Germany’s failure to pay its defense bills looks to have pushed one of Europe’s wealthiest nations into action. 

The president’s criticism of Berlin has compelled Germany to increase funding for its military forces and infrastructure, which critics say are in a bad state of affairs.

Richard Grenell, U.S. Ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, told Fox News Digital “multiple German leaders ignored the warnings from President Trump that Russia was using energy as a weapon against them. 

the Bundeswehr University Munich, said of Germany and Western Europe’s failure over the decades to address its severe defense deficits, “Now we get the receipt for everything we neglected.”

Fox News Digital sent a detailed press query to the German Foreign Ministry about Trump’s criticism that Berlin has chronically underinvested in defense and remained wedded to Putin’s gas supply after his warnings.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.