NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has weathered a fresh ordeal with President Donald Trump, this time over the US-Israel war on Iran, a conflict that does not even involve the world’s biggest military alliance and one it was never consulted about.
Since launching the war, Trump has derided US allies as “cowards,” slammed NATO as “a paper tiger” and compared UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, who is probably best remembered for a policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany.
That comes on top of Trump’s repeated threats to seize control of Greenland, which have deeply strained relations with US allies in NATO and raised fears that doing by force could spell the end of the organisation.
In recent days, the man who is as good as chairman of the NATO board suggested that the US might leave the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Trump already threatened to walk out in 2018 during his first term. His complaint now is that some allies ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade waterway.
After talks with Rutte on Wednesday, the alliance’s most powerful leader took to social media to show his annoyance. “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Trump posted.
Peppered with questions later on CNN about whether Trump intended to take America out of NATO, Rutte said: “He is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point.”
Rutte has earned a reputation as a “Trump whisperer,” notably helping to draw up a plan that has seen European allies and Canada buy US weapons for Ukraine, and keep the administration involved in Europe’s biggest war in decades.
Indeed, one of his most demanding tasks since taking office in 2024 has been to keep the mercurial US leader engaged in NATO, particularly as America has set its sights on security challenges elsewhere, in the Indo-Pacific, Venezuela, and most recently Iran.
Rutte has used flattery, praising Trump for forcing allies to spend more on defense.
He has congratulated the US leader over the war and refrained from criticising Trump’s warning that “a whole civilisation will die” should Iran not reopen the strait.
“This was a very frank, very open discussion but also a discussion between two good friends,” Rutte told CNN.
He declined to confirm reports that Trump is considering moving US troops out of European countries that do not support the war.
Asked whether the world is safer thanks to the US-Israel war, Rutte said: “Absolutely.”
