Available evidence through late 2025 shows that the United States has not shifted to a posture where European NATO members are expected to bear essentially all (near 100%) of the financial cost of their own defense against Russia.

• US still pays the largest share of NATO defense. NATO data and independent analyses show that in 2024–2025 the US accounts for roughly 60–70% of total NATO military spending—around $980–$997 billion out of about $1.5–$1.6 trillion—far more than all European allies combined.(ukdefencejournal.org.uk)
• Common NATO budgets remain shared, not shifted to Europe. For NATO’s joint civil/military/ investment budgets, the US and Germany each contribute about 16%; the US does not expect Europe to cover nearly all of these costs.(ft.com)
• US-funded European posture persists. The European Deterrence Initiative and related deployments in Europe continue to be funded out of the US Department of Defense budget, underscoring ongoing American financial responsibility for deterring Russia in Europe.(en.wikipedia.org)
• Policy changes aim at burden sharing, not US withdrawal from paying. NATO has raised its target from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035 for all allies, including the United States, and leaders repeatedly reaffirm an “ironclad” US Article 5 commitment rather than signaling that Europe must self-fund its defense entirely.(en.wikipedia.org)

European countries are clearly being pushed to spend more, but the factual pattern in budgets, initiatives, and official communiqués shows continued heavy US funding rather than a move toward Europeans paying anything close to 100% of the cost of their defense. Therefore, Sacks’s prediction has not come true as of November 30, 2025.