Well, that was a rather strange … public display of affection, if you will.
After all, while President Trump is used to substantial praise from quite a few individuals – both in the United States and abroad – he is less accustomed to praise from European entities.
In particular entities such as NATO, which Trump has raged against for close to a decade over purported imbalances between the member nations in terms of their defensive spending.
However, according to a report from Politico, it would appear that NATO – or at least the top leadership in NATO – has taken a different approach to Trump following his decisive strikes on Iran.
Specifically, at a very recent NATO summit, which was just held in the wake of the Middle East crisis, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte actually referred to Trump as “Daddy.”
That’s right: Daddy.
And that comment followed Trump’s reported tirade against both Israel and Iran.
“They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a school yard. They fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes, then it’s easier to stop them,” Trump angrily remarked.
And, apparently, that commentary – amongst other reportedly aggressive statements by Trump – has earned the American president the right to be called “Daddy.”
“Daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” Rutte chortled.
Wow. Bet that left more than one person in disbelief.
Trump himself appeared pleased with his newfound label, chuckling about how the NATO chief “likes” him.
“I think he likes me. ‘Daddy, you’re my daddy … He did it very affectionately,” Trump remarked in amusement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was right near Trump at the time, apparently struggled to restrain his laughter on the world stage.
Needless to say, “some European officials” were apparently not pleased, per Politico.
“People are so embarrassed … Yes, the summit was a success on the whole. But the sucking up was pretty over the top,” an anonymous official asserted.
Nonetheless, it would appear that Rutte, who has long been considered “a pragmatic Atlanticist,” is at least publicly happy with the move Trump made.
“[Rutte’s] comment signaled both a recognition of Trump’s outsize influence and a tactical nod to the president’s desire to be publicly acknowledged as the driving force behind both the ceasefire between Iran and Israel and NATO’s renewed military commitments,” Politico detailed.
And, in an even more recent turn of events, it would seem that the NATO chief also praises Trump in private.
Per a report from AP News, Trump actually posted private text messages from Rutte, further underscoring the NATO chief’s apparently deep admiration of the president’s sudden foreign policy moves.
“Mr. President, dear Donald … Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer,” Rutte gushed.
It was extraordinary all right … as most people probably did not see that coming even just a few weeks ago.
Never mind several months ago.
Rutte also praised Trump for ostensibly influencing other European nations to pay their “fair share” on defensive spending.
“You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 percent!” Rutte proclaimed.
As noted by Politico, the 5 percent refers to NATO member states agreeing “to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense,” which Trump had apparently “pushed for months.”
Given the rather enthusiastic text messages from the leader of NATO, it would seem that Trump won’t be pushing that particular request any time soon.
Author: Jane Jones
