NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte extended a warm and colorful welcome to President Donald Trump during Wednesday’s alliance summit in The Hague, lauding him as “a man of strength,” “a man of peace,” and even “the daddy” who managed to broker a truce between Iran and Israel.
According to SkyNews, Trump likened the recent conflict to a schoolyard brawl, saying, “They fight like hell. You can’t stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes. Then it’s easier to stop them.”
Rutte picked up on the analogy, replying with a grin, “Then, daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” in reference to Trump’s colorful remarks during his efforts to enforce the ceasefire, as reported by SkyNews.
Trump’s direct language didn’t go unnoticed. At a press briefing the previous day, he had vented frustration over the ongoing hostilities, saying, “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing.”
Though Trump’s use of profanity sparked some initial criticism, the blunt approach ultimately seemed to resonate—leading to a renewed ceasefire agreement that held. His unfiltered comment became one of the more unexpected moments of the 12-Day War between Iran and Israel.
On Wednesday, Trump defended Israel’s actions, saying the country had been “technically” correct in its assessment that Iran was the first to breach the truce. He commended the Israeli government for showing restraint in the aftermath, saying he was “proud” of how they responded.
Rutte also commended Trump for accomplishing what previous presidents could not: securing a NATO pledge to boost defense expenditures to five percent of each member nation’s GDP by the year 2035. The breakdown includes 3.5 percent earmarked strictly for military purposes and another 1.5 percent for broader security needs like intelligence and cyber capabilities. Among NATO countries, only the U.S. currently comes close to meeting that target.
“This would not have happened if you would not have been elected in 2016 and re-elected last year… so I want to thank you,” Rutte said at a joint news conference with Trump, voicing strong support for the ambitious new spending benchmark.
Historically, most NATO members have fallen short of even the previously agreed-upon 2 percent threshold. Trump, who has long argued that the U.S. shoulders a disproportionate share of NATO’s burden, has repeatedly pressed for higher contributions. On Tuesday, he continued to apply pressure, calling out Canada for its minimal defense outlays and signaling frustration with another NATO partner.
“Spain is not agreeing, which is very unfair to the rest of them, frankly,” Trump remarked.
To underscore the positive momentum, Trump shared a congratulatory message he received from Rutte on his Truth Social platform. The text praised Trump’s actions during the conflict, saying: “Decisive action in Iran,” which Rutte described as “truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do,” had “made us all safer.”
Rutte’s message continued enthusiastically: “You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy, but we’ve got them all signed on to five percent!”
He added, “Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world. You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done. Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.”
In response, Trump expressed satisfaction that NATO leaders had embraced the increased funding demands.
“I’ve been asking to go up to 5% for a number of years and they’re going up to 5%, from 2%, and a lot of people didn’t even pay the 2%. I think that’s going to be very big news. NATO’s going to become very strong with us,” he said at the summit.
Rutte again emphasized Trump’s role in the breakthrough, asserting, “without President Trump, this would not have happened,” and forecasting that the outcomes of the meeting would make a “big splash.”
Trump, in turn, acknowledged Rutte’s endorsement and took the opportunity to contrast his success with the lack of progress under the previous administration.
“When Biden was here it just died, it just died, like everything else died,” Trump said.



{Matzav.com}