In the ultimate act of seeking to 'Trump-proof' the NATO alliance, even well into the future, Europe's largest military powers are now drawing up plans to keep the alliance strong in case of a US exit from leadership over the next five to ten years.

Informal discussions have involved the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Nordic countries, who are envisioning a managed transfer of power and leadership reshaping the NATO bloc.

Financial Times writes that "The discussions are an attempt to avoid the chaos of a unilateral US withdrawal from Nato, a fear sparked by President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to weaken or walk away from the transatlantic alliance that has protected Europe for almost eight decades."

Concern has grown in European quarters not only due to the White House's Ukraine policies, but given that close Trump adviser Elon Musk had this to say earlier this month:

Billionaire Elon Musk threw his weight behind a US exit from NATO, saying on his social media platform that it “doesn’t make sense for America to pay for the defense of Europe.” 

The senior adviser to US President Donald Trump was responding to a post on X early Sunday that asserted the US should “Exit NATO *now*!” 

“We really should,” the Tesla Inc. co-founder and chief executive officer said. On March 3, Musk wrote on X he agreed with a suggestion by a conservative commentator that the US should leave both NATO and the United Nations. 

And this sentiment was quickly seconded by some Republicans in Congress. Rep. Thomas Massie said on X that "NATO is a Cold War relic that needs to be relegated to a talking kiosk at the Smithsonian."

And Utah Rep. Mike Lee as well...

One central irony in these new discussions among European NATO countries is that they plan to do what Trump has been pressuring them to do all along - ramp up defense spending and stop forcing Washington to shoulder most of the burden.

According to the Thursday report in FT:

The proposal would include firm commitments on increasing European defense spending and building up military capabilities, in an effort to convince Trump to agree to a gradual handover that would allow the US to focus more on Asia. The US, which spends more on defense than all other Nato allies combined, is indispensable to European security.

In addition to its nuclear deterrent, which is committed to the defense of Europe with several European air forces carrying US nuclear weapons, it provides military capabilities that continental allies do not possess, runs air, naval and troop bases and has 80,000 troops stationed in Europe.

Recently France's Macron has floated the possibility of extending France's nuclear deterrent over the continent. France remains the only EU country that possess nuclear weapons.

All of this also comes as Bloomberg is freshly reporting that NATO will ask Europe and Canada to boost its weapons and equipment stockpiles by 30%.

NATO sources say the aim is to adopt these dramatic increases in weapons stockpiles and defense spending commitments by early June. Without doubt, Trump's prior days-long temporary halt in arms for Ukraine has hastened these discussions and decisions in Europe, given the 'alarm' caused among Kiev's most hawkish backers.