NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised US President Trump’s successful efforts in pushing 32 member countries to increase defense spending during an interview on Saturday, July 5th. Rutte expressed his belief that Trump deserves all the praise for his actions.
According to a report by “The Hill” on Saturday, Rutte stated in a media interview that he is “convinced that Trump is very clear that for the United States to remain strong and secure, it must closely collaborate with Europe in the security field and work together to maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific region.”
On June 25th, Rutte and Trump held a press conference during the NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands. Regarding the Middle East situation, Trump commented, “They (Israel and Iran) had a big fight, like two children in a schoolyard. You know, they fight so hard, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about 2 to 3 minutes, and it will be very easy to stop them afterward.”
Rutte added, “Sometimes, the dad has to use tough language to make them stop.” Trump followed, saying, “You have to use tough language, and every once in a while, you have to use certain specific words.”
Although Rutte’s reference to “Trump as dad” sparked wide attention and discussion later on, Rutte believes that Trump should receive the deserved praise.
During the Saturday interview, Rutte emphasized, “I think that when someone deserves praise, they should be praised. President Trump deserves all the praise because without his leadership and re-election as the US President, we would never, never, never have been able to reach the agreement for 2% this year and 5% by 2035.”
Rutte, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, said that Trump “achieved another huge success in The Hague… Although it wasn’t easy, we have indeed gotten everyone to sign the commitment for 5%.”
Previously, Trump has been pushing NATO allies to increase their military spending to reach 5% of their GDP to better share the burden of collective defense. He has publicly criticized European countries for their insufficient contributions. Over the years, most of NATO’s defense spending has been borne by the United States.