NATO's secretary general has called US President Donald Trump "daddy" as the military alliance met against the backdrop of war in Europe and the Middle East.
The leaders of NATO were gathered in The Hague when the president compared the fighting between Iran and Israel to children squabbling at school.
"They've had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can't stop them. Let them fight for about 2-3 minutes, then it's easy to stop them," he said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte added, laughing, that "daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get [them to] stop."
On Tuesday, after helping broker a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, who had been trading missile barrages, Trump said the two countries had been fighting "so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing".
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Iran strikes report, stranded travellers land safely, rough weather coming, Bezos' wedding under fire, Kiwi basketballer joins LA Lakers. (Source: 1News)
When asked if his use of "daddy" made him appear weak in front of Trump, Rutte said: "So doesn't he deserve some praise?"
"And when it comes to Iran, the fact that he took this decisive action, very targeted, to make sure that Iran would not be able to get his hands on a nuclear capability - I think he deserves all the praise."
Asked if he was pouring too much flattery on the President, Rutte said: "No, I don't think so. I think it's a bit of a question of taste."
"And I said, that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, 'hey, are you still staying with the family?' So, in that sense, I use 'daddy', not that I was calling President Trump daddy," he later clarified to Reuters.
Trump shifts his tone on NATO
After less than 24 hours on the ground in the Netherlands, Trump headed back to Washington, having secured a major policy change he's pushed for since 2017: A significant boost in defence spending by other NATO countries whom the president has for years accused of freeloading off the United States.
The focus on Ukraine was scaled back dramatically, with its invasion by Russia earning only a passing mention in the summit's official statement, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's profile at the gathering diminished.
Trump also sent NATO scattering for reassurances that the US would remain committed to the alliance's mutual defence pledge, affirming on Thursday that he would abide by Article 5 of the NATO treaty just a day after he rattled the 32-nation alliance by being equivocal about the pact.
“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here," Trump said when asked to clarify his stance on Article 5. "If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”
At a news conference, Trump sounded reflective as he described feeling inspired by other NATO countries that were motivated to provide for their own defence by bolstering their own spending.
“They want to protect their country, and they need the United States, and without the United States, it’s not going to be the same,” Trump said, later adding: “I left here differently. I left here saying, ‘These people really love their countries. It’s not a rip-off. And we are here to help them protect their country'.”
He mused just a day earlier that whether he abided by the treaty "depends on your definition" of Article 5.
The mutual praise in The Hague stood in stark contrast to Trump's previous harsh words for the alliance, whose value he had long questioned.
— additional reporting from Associated Press
SHARE ME