The NATO secretary-general is right to suck up to ‘Daddy’ Trump

Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary-general, has two jobs. The first is to lead the 32-member alliance at a time of unprecedented threat and challenges. His other equally significant task is to keep America, and in particular President Donald Trump, on side.

Rutte is in effect tasked with doing and saying whatever it takes to keep Trump sweet. Why so? For the simple and obvious reason that, without the US leader’s support, NATO is in even bigger trouble than ever. That is why the criticism of Rutte in some quarters for lavishing praise on Trump is misguided.

“Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do,” Rutte wrote in a text message to Trump. Is this sycophantic? Perhaps but so what? What else would his critics have Rutte do? Would it be better for NATO if its leader chose to pick a fight with Trump?

Rutte’s ability to sweet talk Trump is one of the reasons why he got the job of NATO chief

Rutte went on to congratulate the President for getting all NATO allies to agree to spend more on defense. “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way as they should, and it will be your win,” Rutte’s message read. Trump, being Trump, gleefully shared a screenshot of the congratulatory text message while making his way to the NATO summit in the Hague.

The NATO chief heaped further praise on America’s role in his opening remarks to world leaders when talks got underway today. “For too long, one ally, the United States carried too much of the burden of that commitment, that changes today,” he said. Asked about Trump’s profane language on the Israel-Iran conflict, Rutte said: “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.” Yes, it’s cringeworthy. But this is Rutte simply doing his job in keeping on the right side of Trump and ensuring the talks are a success.

Keeping the show on the road is no easy task. At one point there was speculation that the President might give the gathering a miss altogether. NATO isn’t much to Trump’s liking. At the 2018 summit during his first term, Trump hinted that the US might even leave the alliance. On Air Force One, en route to the Hague, Trump was asked whether the US would abide by NATO’s Article 5 guarantee that says that if one member of the alliance is attacked, it is considered as an attack on all, and other allies should take the actions deemed necessary to assist the country attacked. “Depends on your definition,” Trump said. “There’s numerous definitions of Article 5, you know that, right? But I’m committed to being their friends.” It’s not exactly a cast-iron guarantee for the future.

That is why every effort has been made to ensure the NATO gathering is tailored to Trump’s wishes. It is a cut-down event. A single two-and-a-half- hour meeting is being held to sign off a brief communique confirming the new 5 percent of GDP defense spending deal. Every step has been taken to ensure it fits Trump’s notoriously short attention span and impatience when it comes to talks with other leaders. Yet somewhat bizarrely, Rutte has even been getting flak for making the summit shorter to suit Trump. What’s he supposed to do? Stick to the usual timetable and find the President decides he has had enough and leaves early? That’s exactly what Trump did during the recent G7 leaders’ talks. What purpose does the NATO gathering serve if the main man, who ultimately controls the purse strings and the military might that keeps the alliance going, decamps early?

Rutte knows from bitter experience that striking the right tone is key when it comes to managing relations with the ever-unpredictable American leader. Everyone knows Trump loves – indeed expects, even demands – flattery. In fact, Rutte’s ability to sweet talk Trump is one of the reasons why he got the job of NATO chief. He demonstrated his diplomatic nous in deciding to visit Trump in Mar-a-Lago in November last year, when he was still president-elect. The former Dutch prime minister has even been nicknamed the “Trump whisperer” because he is one of the few leaders capable of ticking along nicely with the President.

Those carping at Rutte now for “sucking up” to Trump need to put a sock in it. There are much bigger issues at stake when it comes to NATO and the future security of Europe.