Donald Trump as the “daddy” figure and a NATO summit characterized by excessive gratitude.
This theme dominated a day-and-a-half of defense discussions and diplomacy in The Hague.
Whether appreciated or not, the sycophantic praise from Mark Rutte, NATO’s head, and other European allies seems to have yielded results, as the U.S. president returned home ostensibly back on board with the idea of collective defense—at least for now.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
The most cringeworthy display of affection towards Mr. Trump surfaced during his remarks with Mr. Rutte to reporters about a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran.
“They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard,” Mr. Trump stated.
“You know, they fight fiercely. You can’t stop it. Let them go for about two or three minutes, and then it’s easy to intervene.”
Mr. Rutte added: “And then Daddy sometimes has to use strong language to get it stopped.”
At a news conference concluding the summit, I questioned Mr. Trump about being labeled “Daddy” and whether he views his NATO allies as children.
The president replied, “He likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn’t, I’ll let you know. I’ll come back and hit him hard, okay? He did it. Very affectionate. Daddy. You’re my daddy.”
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I continued the inquiry by asking once again whether he sees fellow NATO member states as children and if they might be capable of defending themselves without depending on the U.S. after enhancing their own defenses.
The president asserted that he believed they would still require assistance initially. Regarding whether they could operate independently from the United States in the future, he said, “Ask Mark [Rutte].”
Currently, the atmosphere at the summit was more harmonious than antagonistic.
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Whether this sentiment persists will hinge on all parties sticking to their commitments and boosting defense spending to a new goal of 3.5% of GDP—up from 2%—along with an additional 1.5% of GDP dedicated to national resilience.
This totals 5%—a figure first proposed by Mr. Trump when he returned to the White House for his second term, once again accusing many NATO members of benefiting from American security while failing to fund their own defense.
The U.S. president, however, seemed to believe that budget increases would happen swiftly, while the fastest timeline that all 32 allies could agree upon is ten years. Spain has been particularly ambiguous, agreeing to the new target but making it clear it won’t be met.
This slow pace is likely to disappoint Mr. Trump, but it is also grossly insufficient for rearming member states in time to address what the Baltic states and Poland perceive as a very real risk of Vladimir Putin testing the alliance’s defenses in the next five years.