NATO presses to keep Trump on board, but is he hobbling alliance?

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock give a joint press conference in Kyiv on April 1, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [AFP]

Nervous US allies at NATO are scrambling to keep President Donald Trump engaged by upping defence spending, vowing to take the reins on Ukraine and queueing for face time at the White House.

But as his administration savages Europe, undercuts Kyiv and warms to Russia, Western diplomats fret that even if the alliance is salvaged it runs the risk of being hollowed out.