Rutte uses flattery and charts to ease Trump's fury at NATO allies over Iran war

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited the White House on Wednesday, armed with cardboard charts and effusive praise, in an effort to repair the fraying relationship between President Donald Trump and European allies who refused to join the US war on Iran. The meeting came ahead of a pivotal NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8, with Trump openly questioning the alliance's mutual defence pact and threatening to withdraw troops from Europe.

The Oval Office meeting

Rutte opened the session by calling Trump "the leader of the free world" and praising his decision to strike Iran, which he said had been "very close to the nuclear weapon" and was "exporting chaos, exporting terrorism." He then unveiled a series of charts showing what he dubbed the "Trump Trillion", the surge in European and Canadian defence spending since Trump first took office in 2017, totalling over $250 billion in the past two years alone. "I am absolutely convinced that you, being president of the United States, made the difference," Rutte said, crediting Trump with achieving what no president since Eisenhower had accomplished.

This is your evidence.

Trump, who has long derided NATO as a "paper tiger," appeared unmoved by the charts and interrupted Rutte several times. Yet he praised the secretary-general personally. "You really have done a good job, and I think if anybody else were in that position, we wouldn't even be meeting today, to be honest with you, because we were let down," Trump said.

Trump's grievances

The president reeled off a list of allies that had disappointed him: Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and especially Spain, which he called a "terror show" and a "disaster." Trump insisted he did not need their help, "We demolished them in literally the first week," he said of Iran, but that it would have been "nice if they would have said, 'We'd like to help.'" He added: "I want loyalty, not money."

The anger stems from the aftermath of the 28 February US-Israeli attack on Iran, which disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Spain refused to allow US forces to use its bases for the operation, and Italy authorised only technical and logistical flights. Other allies declined to participate in reopening the strait or in combat operations.

Rutte's defence

Rutte acknowledged Trump's frustrations but argued that the reluctance was confined to "isolated cases." He pointed out that between 4,000 and 5,000 American military aircraft had taken off from European bases during the war, and that allies were now positioning warships near the Strait of Hormuz to assist with mine-clearing. "Generally speaking, your European allies have been there," he said.

I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking your European allies have been there.

The NATO chief also stressed that the alliance was stronger because of Trump's pressure, noting that Germany had doubled its defence spending and that Nordic countries were ramping up their contributions.

Looming summit and broader strains

The visit was a prelude to the Ankara summit, where diplomats fear Trump could erupt over the allies' stance on Iran. Tensions have been compounded by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent launch of a six-month review of the US military presence in Europe, with hints that nations that did not assist in the Iran war would be punished. The administration has already announced troop withdrawals from Germany and briefly cancelled a deployment to Poland before reversing course.

France has called for an "orderly" US drawdown, while Rutte insists that Washington's moves are not a surprise. After the meeting, Rutte told reporters that Trump remained "committed" to NATO, though the president's own words left little doubt that the alliance's future hinges on the Ankara gathering.