Before departing for the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Trump suggested both countries violated the terms of the deal and had been fighting so long and hard that they “don’t know what the f‑‑‑ they’re doing.”
“Daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” Rutte said to describe the U.S. president’s use of expletives.
Rutte also praised Trump for authorizing strikes on three nuclear facilities near Tehran and for pushing member nations to invest more into defense spending. Rutte earlier this month said allies were on the cusp of agreeing to the president’s 5 percent demand.
“We have to keep ourselves safe from our adversaries, but also because it’s fair to equalize with the United States,” Rutte said Tuesday, per Sky News. He also lauded Trump for backing Ukraine in its war against Russia and other military operations.
Spain pushed back on the measure and was ultimately exempt from the new target as allies agreed to raise their defense investments from the allotted 2.7 percent of GDP outlined last year, as reported by Politico.
“NATO is going to become very strong with us,” Trump told reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit. “We’re with them all the way.”
NATO leaders previously feared Trump could pull the U.S. out of the alliance due to past grievances with member nations.
