It must have been the last thing NATO\u2019s chief needed. <\/p>\n
Late Tuesday, on the eve of a crucial summit that would lock in a generational investment in NATO\u2019s defense, Donald Trump\u2019s Truth Social account pinged with a single photo: a gushing message signed \u201cMark Rutte,\u201d written in a carbon-copy Trump style and overflowing with sycophantic praise for the US president. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou are flying into another big success in the Hague this evening,\u201d Rutte\u2019s message read. <\/p>\n
\u201cEurope is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done.\u201d <\/p>\n
While the diplomatic world has bent toward many norms of the Trump White House, this was extreme. <\/p>\n
Doubling down on the comments the following day, saying Trump deserved credit for his actions on Iran and NATO, Rutte waded through many observers\u2019 incredulity at his kowtowing tone. But as the summit crescendoed, there was a growing sense he may have pulled off a diplomatic masterstroke. <\/p>\n
Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister, is no stranger to dealings with Trump, having deployed his easy charm in several visits to Washington, DC, during Trump\u2019s first term. <\/p>\n
Exuding an easygoing, relaxed image \u2013 his signature boyish grin never far from his face \u2013 Rutte\u2019s charm offensive echoes that of other NATO leaders. <\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron has charted up a boisterous bromance with Trump; Finnish President Alex Stubb bonded with him over rounds of golf, and Italian far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has won a reputation as something of Trump whisperer: She\u2019s a \u201cfantastic woman,\u201d in Trump\u2019s words. <\/p>\n
Rutte\u2019s message \u2013 signed with his surname \u2013 perhaps spoke of a less pally relationship. So did one of Trump\u2019s reactions Wednesday: \u201cI think he likes me. If he doesn\u2019t, I\u2019ll let you know. I\u2019ll come back and I\u2019ll hit him hard,\u201d Trump announced in his Wednesday news conference. <\/p>\n
But in The Hague, Rutte seemed ready to do anything to burnish the US president\u2019s ego and save him face. <\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s decision to attack Iran\u2019s nuclear program was \u201cextremely impressive,\u201d the NATO chief told Trump. \u201cThe signal it sends to the rest of the world that this president, when it comes to it, yes, he is a man of\u202fpeace, but if necessary, he is willing to use strength.\u201d <\/p>\n
Time and again around the summit, Rutte\u2019s interjections soothed Trump\u2019s passage \u2013 softening his landing after a fiery \u201cf**k\u201d at Iran and Israel\u2019s latest exchange of missiles lit up international headlines. <\/p>\n
Rutte\u2019s response: a jokey aside in front of the world\u2019s cameras. <\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy\u202fhas to sometimes use strong language,\u201d he said beside Trump, after the US president used the analogy of two children fighting to describe the conflict between Iran and Israel. <\/p>\n
Rutte later said he wasn\u2019t referring to Trump as \u201cdaddy\u201d but was merely using a metaphor. <\/p>\n
The Dutchman didn\u2019t spare praise for Trump\u2019s strikes on Iran \u2013 a conflict technically outside the NATO wheelhouse \u2013 as the president railed against suggestions in a leaked government assessment that undercut his claim the strikes \u201cobliterated\u201d parts of Iran\u2019s nuclear program. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do think this is a kind of hold-your-nose moment. Ensure there are no fireworks in The Hague. Get a good photo op and go home,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
Beyond Rutte, the whole summit was sculpted around Trump. <\/p>\n
Slimmed down, the schedule featured a single session for leaders; experts have suggested this was for Trump, who earlier this month skipped the ending of the G7 summit, missing a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. <\/p>\n
Of course, the summit result is largely pre-ordained, after rounds of pre-negotiations to ensure the leaders had to only rubber-stamp declarations. <\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s war with Russia \u2013 by far the most pressing issue on NATO\u2019s agenda \u2013 was also excised from the summit\u2019s final declaration, the first time it has been missing since Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022. <\/p>\n
Even the crown jewel of the gathering, the promise to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense (split into core defense requirements and 1.5% on defense-related spending by 2035), was a Trump-branded product. <\/p>\n
Back in January, Trump lofted the idea of a 5% spending target for NATO members, a figure that hadn\u2019t been given serious consideration before, as members limped towards 2%. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey can all afford it. They\u2019re at 2% but they should be at 5%,\u201d he told journalists. <\/p>\n
But Rutte may have had the last laugh. <\/p>\n
The summit was, by all accounts, a win for NATO: Members unanimously agreed to boost spendings to post-Cold War highs \u2013 and thanked Trump for it. <\/p>\n
Spain was a notable exception, pushing for softened language that may have left a loophole for the Iberian nation to meet its responsibilities for NATO military capabilities without having to spend 5% of GDP. (The final summit declaration signed by NATO members referred only to \u201callies\u201d in its clauses on spending, while others spoke of commitments \u201cwe\u201d will make.) <\/p>\n
Leaders \u2013 led, of course, by Rutte \u2013 singled out Trump as the sole pressure responsible for finally corralling NATO allies to previously unthinkable spending targets. <\/p>\n
Boosted defense spending \u201cis the success of President Donald Trump,\u201d Polish President Andrzej Duda told journalists at the summit. <\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the leadership of Donald Trump, it would be impossible,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
His Lithuanian counterpart suggested a new motto for the alliance, \u201cMake NATO great again,\u201d as he welcomed the pressure Trump had levied on stingy allies. <\/p>\n
But in public, comment on Rutte\u2019s messaging to Trump was largely off limits, with leaders waving off or swerving around questions. <\/p>\n
Finland\u2019s president wouldn\u2019t be drawn on the NATO secretary general\u2019s messages, but he said, however, \u201cDiplomacy has so many different forms.\u201d <\/p>\n
Casualties \u2013 particularly from diplomatic skirmishes with Trump \u2013 were fewer than expected. Only Spain caught flak from the US president over its foot-dragging over the 5% GDP spend. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s terrible what they\u2019ve done,\u201d Trump said, threatening to use trade talks to force Madrid into line. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make them pay twice as much,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Even Zelensky \u2013 who has had a turbulent relationship with Trump \u2013 came away with wins. <\/p>\n
While he stopped short of committing further US aid to Ukraine, Trump suggested Kyiv may see future Patriot missile system deliveries from the United States \u2013 and he slammed Putin as \u201cmisguided,\u201d conceding the Russian leader may have territorial designs that extend further than Ukraine. <\/p>\n
Finally, Trump\u2019s own views on NATO \u2013 often a prickly subject for the famously transactional president \u2013 saw a reversal. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese people really love their countries,\u201d Trump said of the NATO leaders at his news conference concluding the NATO summit. \u201cIt\u2019s not a rip-off, and we\u2019re here to help them protect their country.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI came here because it was something I\u2019m supposed to be doing,\u201d he added, \u201cbut I left here a little bit different.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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