NATO’s Rutte heads to White House to make peace with Trump
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is heading to Washington, D.C., to smooth relations between the White House and European members of the alliance. He will meet President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to discuss shared security concerns, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and to reassure allies about the alliance’s unity.
Key points:
– Rutte is portrayed as a mediator who has cultivated a “Trump whisperer” image and will push for continued cooperation despite NATO member differences.
– President Trump has criticized NATO as a “paper tiger,” recounting tensions with European partners over various security issues, including Denmark’s Greenland decision and opposition to operations against Iran.
– some European officials caution against unilateral actions: Italian Defense Minister Crosetto doubts Trump could unilaterally withdraw from NATO and cautions that such a move could weaken Europe’s security.
– Spanish Foreign Minister Albares suggests Europe might need a pan-European defense approach and greater sovereignty in security matters.
– A Washington Examiner piece quotes Jeffries urging the United states to cultivate more allies in response to Trump’s NATO withdrawal threats.
– Trump has also singled out Japan, South Korea, and Australia as unhelpful to U.S. goals against Iran, signaling broader frustration with allies’ contributions.
NATO’s Rutte heads to White House to make peace with Trump
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is heading to Washington D.C., in hopes of smoothing things over between the White House and European members of the alliance.
Rutte will arrive on Wednesday to speak with President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The secretary-general, who has cultivated an image as somewhat of a Trump whisperer, said last month that alliance members “will always have different views,” but that all parties can agree on “not accepting Iran having a nuclear and missile capability.”
“What the United States is doing now is degrading that capability […] yes, I applaud that,” Rutte said.
The meeting will come just days after Trump said that NATO is nothing but a “paper tiger.”
During Monday’s press conference at the White House, Trump revealed that his ire toward the alliance began with Denmark’s refusal to cede Greenland to the United States and reached a boiling point with Europeans’ opposition to Operation Epic Fury.
“Look, we went to NATO,” Trump recalled. “I didn’t ask very strongly, I just said, ‘Hey, if you want to help, great.’”
“‘No, no, no, we will not help,’” the president recalled being told, adding that some countries have “actually gone out of their way not to help” operations against the Islamic Republic.
Trump previously said that U.S. membership in NATO is “beyond reconsideration,” a phrase he has not clarified since.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto expressed doubt this week that Trump could unilaterally rescind his country’s NATO membership, saying the president would “need the approval of Congress, and it is unlikely that such a move would gain support.” But he cautioned that a “decision could be made to withdraw troops from Europe.”
“That would make us weaker, less protected,” Crosetto said. “At the moment, we are not capable of acting together to replace them.”
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told La Sexta TV on Tuesday that, while “NATO is a mutually beneficial alliance for both Europeans and Americans,” the White House’s “remarks and new positions on Euro-Atlantic security are inviting us Europeans to take a leap in terms of our sovereignty and defense matters.”
JEFFRIES SAYS US NEEDS ‘MORE FRIENDS’ IN REBUTTAL TO TRUMP’S NATO WITHDRAWAL THREATS
Albares floated the idea of a pan-European military that would conscript from individual countries for the sake of mutual defense, warning that “we must take our citizens’ security and dissuasion into our own hands.”
Trump’s frustration has not been limited to Europe or even the wider NATO alliance. The president named Japan, South Korea, and Australia as similarly unhelpful to U.S. efforts to curb Iranian nuclear capabilities.
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