On Wednesday, Donald Trump and former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte sat down for a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague.
Asked about the ongoing war between Israel and Iran — a conflict that, despite his promises of peace and isolationism, Trump himself dragged the United States into — the president expressed his thoughts in characteristically inappropriate terms: “They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. They fight like hell; you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes, then it’s easier to stop them.”
Usually whichever world leader happens to sit next to Trump just listens. Sometimes they force a smile, steal a concerned or confused glance at the cameras, or put on a poker face to try to hide their disbelief at the situation.
Rutte didn’t quite do this. Stooping down to — or rather below — Trump’s rhetorical level, he replied with all the tact and grace you’d expect from a seasoned statesman: “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.”
This comment is eyebrow-raising enough on its own but even more so considering that Rutte is currently serving as secretary general of NATO, the most powerful military alliance on the planet. Worse still is the fact that this wasn’t a Freudian slip or translation error (although the Dutch are famous for their use of cute diminutives) but part of a larger effort to conduct diplomacy by appealing to Trump’s ego. During the conference, Rutte picked up where a private Signal message he sent to Trump the day before, and which Trump subsequently leaked to Truth Social, had left off:
Mr. President, dear Donald, Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer. You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 percent! Donald, you have driven us to a really,…
Auteur: Tim Brinkhof
