NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has reportedly been told to dial down his flattery of President Donald Trump as he makes a trip to the White House on Wednesday.
Rutte, 59, has made no secret of his admiration for Trump’s approach to foreign policy, including the president’s decision to launch coordinated strikes with Israel against Iran on Feb. 28. During a CBS interview in March, the NATO chief said the president launched the strikes with Israel “to make the whole world safer.”
He also notably called the 79-year-old president “daddy” during the 2025 NATO summit.
European allies are now questioning whether Rutte’s “deferential approach” to the president is “appropriate” or effective, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The U.K. thinks Rutte went too far in backing Trump’s Middle East operation, one source said. Others said the NATO chief’s “overt boosterism” for the attacks has been “particularly at odds” with the sentiment among most members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Rutte hasn’t much to show for his “unique ability” to connect with the president, given that Washington slashed aid to Ukraine and sparked global market turmoil by attacking Iran, one source said.
Members of the military alliance are also concerned that their friendly relations may have led Trump to believe that NATO would back Washington in the conflict, they said.
They didn’t, and Trump has since slammed member states as “cowards,” warning that rebuffing his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz “will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
Trump has even threatened to withdraw from the 32-member military alliance.
“Red lines are being drawn,” Bloomberg reported. “Some officials have not appreciated moments when they felt Rutte was almost taking Trump’s side against Europe.”
According to The Financial Times, diplomats will be watching Rutte ahead of his visit to Washington on Wednesday to see if he defends NATO leaders. His White House visit comes on the heels of an announcement by Trump of a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
The Daily Beast has contacted NATO for comment.
In calling Trump “daddy,” Rutte has echoed MAGA diehards who have also taken to using the term to refer to their hero. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson likened Trump to a “Dad” who would give a “vigorous spanking” to America, which he likened to a “bad little girl” in a particularly chilling speech at a Trump rally last year.
Previously asked if it was “demeaning” for a NATO chief to refer to Trump as “daddy,” Rutte insisted that it wasn’t.
“No, I don’t think so,” Rutte said. “I think it’s a bit of a question of taste,” adding that Trump is a “good friend” who “deserves all the praise.”
