For 48 hours in Ankara, Turkey, it felt like the world was moving on Donald Trump’s timetable.
Markets are booming. NATO allies prepare for confrontation. Ukraine sought confirmation. Iran has threatened to reverse the agenda. One minute, the leaders were preparing for a diplomatic crisis; next, they were describing a “love affair” with the president and many presidents feared it would leave the coalition more divided than ever.
I covered hundreds of major international events during my 25 years at CNBC – G7, G8 and G20 summits, OPEC meetings, climate summits and numerous trips to Ukraine. But I’ve never seen such huge changes in fortune, affecting so many players in the world, compressed into just 48 hours.
The NATO Summit was not just another gathering of officials. It was a real-time indicator of how quickly the geopolitical landscape can change with President Trump at its center.
While major conferences involving the US inevitably revolve around Washington, this one felt different. It could not only revolve around one country, but also revolve around one person.
Think about everything that was at stake. Iran. Russia’s war in Ukraine. Greenland. European security. Spain’s refusal to meet NATO military spending targets. The uncertain position of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Washington. Every major issue seemed to converge on one summit – and it all ended up revolving around the US president.
For the record, all NATO members in Europe – and Canada – were on trial for attending the meeting. Trump and the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, also criticized NATO for its lack of support over Iran and failure to spend enough money on its security.
In addition, the president also committed to Denmark and for its refusal to give Greenland to have a great advantage – its good that it was a counterpoint – and, of course, Spain was getting both barrels for being worse than the other 30 NATO partners in its military use.
Zelenskyy was in town, once again to boost support for NATO. And let’s be honest, he doesn’t really know what kind of reception he’ll get from the Leader of the Free World.
Then came the absolute bombshell from Mr. Trump that he was done with the Iranians, he was done with the MOU and the ceasefire. Markets went south and oil went north.
At that time, the conference seemed to be on the upswing.
And yet, then the optics changed on a dime. The atmosphere changed like that and suddenly love was in the air.
Even before Trump’s last big press conference, world leaders were telling me in quiet asides that the meeting with Trump went very well, that he was very happy, that he listened – actually listened – to all the leaders in the big closed door pow-wow and left happy.
Wait, was that Donald Trump who was yelling at his colleagues a few hours earlier?
Yes, apparently so.
I wasn’t sure, but I heard it myself from the horse’s mouth a few hours later when, in front of a thousand journalists at his closing press conference, the US president confirmed that love-within was real.
Standing alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Hegseth and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the president spoke of “a lot of love in the room” during the leaders’ meeting. “The unity was amazing,” he said. “Love was too wild.”
It was a dramatic reversal from the public criticism Trump had directed at many of his allies just hours earlier.
CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick speaks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey.
Michael Green
This conference has produced winners and losers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared energized after hosting a smooth summit and appeared to be moving closer to securing US approval for F-35 fighter jets.
Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, reserved Trump’s praise and, in doing so, helped keep the US engaged with NATO, at least for now. Spain and Denmark, despite early attacks, came without a major rebuke from the US at Trump’s closing press conference.
Another big winner must be Zelenskyy, who seems to have risen in the US presidential rating as Ukraine has stabilized the battlefield and taken the war to Russia despite the crisis. The Ukrainian leader may have also secured a deal to produce Patriot missile systems – something Kyiv has long regarded as a top priority.
The losers? Of course, Putin would clearly not be happy with both the show of unity from NATO, its major progress in defense spending and the warm welcome to Ukraine from Trump.
And Iran? Well, that’s still the big unknown.
I asked the US president directly when I had the chance to ask him the question: “What will happen next if you stop fighting?”
His answer, I’m afraid, was vague. He just went back to the point that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon on his watch.
And perhaps that’s the most lasting takeaway from these extraordinary 48 hours.
The atmosphere within NATO has changed significantly during the summit, but the big questions remain unanswered. What’s next for Iran? Can the improved attitude between Trump’s allies and NATO last beyond this meeting? And what does it mean in the end for Ukraine?
Those questions are more important than the political arena. But if this summit shows anything, it’s how quickly the landscape can change when Donald Trump is at the center of it. Partners, adversaries and markets alike are learning to adjust in real time.
