Donald Trump appeared ready to drag the U.S. into a catastrophic showdown over Greenland. Then his bravado suddenly evaporated—after intervention from one key leader.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, 58, talked the 79-year-old president down from his escalating threats to seize Greenland from NATO allies at the Davos summit on Wednesday, solidifying his reputation as a “Trump whisperer.”
Rutte, who honed his consensus-building skills while leading the Netherlands’ fractious parliament during a record-breaking 14 years as prime minister, successfully brought Trump on board for a “future deal” on Greenland and steered the NATO alliance back from the brink.
“The work of the Secretary General of NATO is always important. And when it’s manifested in the personality of Mark Rutte, who’s cool, calm, and collected, and is able to talk with the president of the United States, we should just be thankful that he’s our secretary general right now,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Reuters.
Rutte got Trump to massively compromise on his original demands of total control over Greenland. Trump dropped his threat of tariffs on eight European allies, and two sources with knowledge of the deal told Axios that overall sovereignty of the Arctic island will remain with Denmark.
When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins whether the deal included the U.S. getting ownership of Greenland, Trump sputtered. “Uhhh, it’s a long-term deal,” he said, adding, “It’s forever.”
Rutte, who became NATO chief shortly before Trump was re-elected in 2024, has relied on a strategy of flattering the president and staying readily accessible.
“He really tries to understand not just what Trump needs in terms of policy to move, but also what Trump needs psychologically,” Simon Otjes, associate professor of Dutch politics at Leiden University, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a senior NATO diplomat said the de-escalation deal shows why Rutte “does what he does to stay on speed dial” with the volatile commander-in-chief.
Rutte relied on a similar approach as the Dutch prime minister to keep the Netherlands’ coalition governments intact, according to Tim Sweijs, director of research at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.
“Instead of withdrawing—as many leaders do—and limiting discussions to a small inner circle, he would always pick up his old Nokia phone and call both his coalition partners and members of the opposition,” Sweijs said.
Rutte previously put on the charm for Trump during a NATO summit at The Hague in June, where he delighted Trump by calling him “daddy” and negotiating a deal that saw allies agree to Trump’s call for an increase in military and related spending to 5% of GDP.
A European diplomat told Reuters that Rutte, who built a rapport with Trump during the former reality-TV star’s first stint in the White House, “is not perfect” and that allies “may have different opinions about him and his managing style.”
“But he is very good at keeping this alliance together in difficult times,” the diplomat said.
By Thursday, however, the mercurial Trump was again issuing dire new warnings against Europe.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
