Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on Nato over its role in the Iran war on Wednesday, hours after hosting secretary general Mark Rutte at the White House for more than two hours, the BBC reports.
In a post on Truth Social following the meeting, Trump said: “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.” He also used the post to revisit his grievances over Greenland, writing: “REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”
Rutte described the talks to CNN as “very frank” and “very open,” despite clear disagreements between the two sides. The White House did not disclose details of the discussion, and it is not known how long Trump and Rutte met within the broader two-hour visit.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump had floated the idea of quitting the trans-Atlantic alliance after several Nato members resisted his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease rising global oil prices. In recent weeks he has threatened to withdraw from the 32-member alliance entirely.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, citing Trump directly, said on Wednesday that Nato had been “tested and they failed.” She said member countries had “turned their backs on the American people,” who fund their nations’ defence, and that Trump would have a “very frank and candid conversation” with the Nato chief.
Trump still harbours deep misgivings about the alliance and the member countries he believes did not do enough to support the US before and during Operation Epic Fury, according to reports.
Rutte pushed back on that characterisation, telling CNN that “the large majority of European nations has been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights.” He added: “It’s therefore a nuanced picture.” Much of his message to Trump appeared to centre on the argument that many European countries did not stand in the way of US operations.
Asked whether the world was safer than before the war, Rutte told CNN “absolutely,” crediting Trump’s “leadership” in degrading Iran’s nuclear capabilities. He added that Nato members do not regard the war in Iran as illegal and that most agreed it had been important to degrade Iran’s nuclear threat.
Whether Rutte’s arguments — and his reportedly warm personal relationship with Trump — were enough to reassure the US president remained unclear after the meeting.
Under legislation passed by the US Congress at the end of 2023, no president may unilaterally withdraw from Nato without the approval of a two-thirds Senate majority or an act of Congress.
Relations between the Trump administration and Nato were already strained before the Iran conflict, largely over Trump’s designs on Greenland. The war, however, has sharpened those tensions into what many regard as the gravest challenge the alliance has faced in its history.