NATO's Trump whisperer heads to the White House to soothe the president ahead of next month's summit
WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will check in face-to-face with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, visiting the volatile U.S. leader two weeks before the annual summit of the military alliance at a time when the Pentagon is reviewing the size of the U.S. military footprint in Europe.
Trump has long been critical of NATO, arguing the U.S. carries more than its fair share of military spending. But his grievances have been louder since the Iran war as he fumed over some member countries ignoring his call to help him restart oil trade through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has renewed his threats to leave the 77-year-old military alliance, raising the stakes ahead of the NATO leaders' summit in Turkey next month. But Rutte, who has become known as a Trump whisperer for his ability to charm the president, is expected to use Wednesday’s White House meeting to try to appease him.
The visit comes after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week lashed out at allies during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He announced a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe.
Hegseth echoed some of Trump’s critiques, faulting European allies for not letting the U.S. use bases in Europe to attack Iran. NATO allies were not consulted about the war before the U.S. launched it with Israel on Feb. 28, and some have been openly critical of Trump's strategy.
Trump has claimed NATO allies were not there for the U.S. and suggested leaving the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold War threat posed to European security by the Soviet Union. At the heart of their treaty is a mutual defense agreement in which an attack on one is considered an attack on all. The only time it has been invoked was in 2001, to support the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The Pentagon’s warning that it will reduce its military presence in Europe to focus on threats elsewhere was the latest upheaval for the 32-member alliance since Trump returned to office.
The Republican leader stunned European allies last year when he threatened to annex Greenland, a semiautonomous island that is part of ally Denmark.
A chief part of Rutte’s mission these days is keeping the U.S. in NATO, and he’s proven himself deft in the past at subduing Trump’s frustrations.
Rutte frequently flatters the president, crediting him with getting NATO members to increase their defense spending. Trump last year pressured leaders to agree to invest 5% of their GDP annually on defense by 2035.
On Tuesday evening, Rutte appeared for an interview on Fox News Channel, of which Trump is known to be a dedicated viewer.
Rutte repeatedly praised Trump, emphasizing he is the leader of the NATO alliance and said of his efforts in Iran: “I’m completely behind him on this."
He said that Trump's frustrations over the use of bases in Europe involved a few “isolated cases."
The lengths to which Rutte is willing to praise Trump have at times raised eyebrows, such as when he referred to the president as “daddy” during the alliance’s summit last year.
He then sent him a fawning text message that employed one of Trump’s favorite flourishes, capitalizing random words. “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,” Rutte said.
Trump shared the private message on social media for the world to see.
He did it again in January, blasting out another Rutte message that closed with: “Can’t wait to see you. Yours, Mark.”
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Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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