NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Defends Trump’s ‘Daddy’ Comment Amid Israel-Iran Ceasefire Row
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has defended US President Donald Trump’s recent expletive-laden rant about Iran and Israel, referring to the US president as his ‘daddy’ during a joint press conference. Trump criticized both nations for allegedly breaching a Washington-brokered ceasefire, using strong language that Rutte defended as ‘affectionate’.
The outburst occurred hours after Trump announced the truce, which was reportedly broken soon after by both Israel and Iran. During a joint press conference the next day, Trump likened the two nations to ‘kids (fighting) in a schoolyard’. Rutte, seated beside him, added: ‘And then daddy has to, sometimes, use strong language.’
When a reporter later brought up the comment, Trump laughed and replied, ‘Daddy – you’re my daddy,’ saying that the NATO chief had meant it ‘affectionately’. Trump also joked that if Rutte didn’t like him, he would ‘come back and hit him hard’.
Ahead of the NATO summit in the Hague, Trump published private text messages in which Rutte praised the US president’s ‘decisive action in Iran’ as ‘truly extraordinary’ and said it ‘makes us all safer’. The NATO chief also used the summit to back Trump’s controversial push for NATO members to more than double their military spending to 5% of GDP. At Wednesday’s press conference, Rutte called Trump ‘a good friend’ and said he ‘deserves all the praise’ for forcing the issue. When asked if this overt admiration made him look weak, Rutte brushed it off, stating, ‘I don’t think so. I think it’s a bit of a question of taste.’
The incident has sparked debates on the nature of diplomatic relations, with some criticizing the informality of the exchange while others see it as a display of camaraderie. The comments highlight the complex dynamics within NATO, where leaders must balance their roles as diplomats with the need for personal rapport in high-stakes international politics.