Rutte Tries to Calm Trump’s Anger at NATO

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sought to ease tensions with US President Donald Trump during a visit to the White House on Wednesday, arguing that allies’ reluctance to support the US war with Iran was limited to “isolated cases”.

During a meeting in the Oval Office, Rutte pointed to the increase in NATO defense spending since Trump first took office in 2017. He also said thousands of US planes had taken off from bases in Europe during the war as evidence of allied support.

“I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking your European allies have been there”, Rutte said.

Trump appeared unconvinced, at times interrupting Rutte, though he praised his leadership. “You really have done a good job, and I think if anybody else were in that position, we wouldn't even be meeting today, to be honest with you, because we were let down”, Trump said.

Relations between Washington and NATO have deteriorated since several allies refused to back Trump’s Iran campaign, which he began without prior consultation. Trump has since questioned whether the US should stand by NATO’s mutual defense pact and said he was considering leaving the alliance.

Another point of tension is Washington’s pressure on Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week berated “free-riding” allies and announced a six-month review of US troop deployments in Europe.

After the meeting, Rutte said Trump was “committed” to NATO. Trump expressed particular disappointment with the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Spain, while praising Poland.

(Reuters, bak)