Why did the head of NATO call Trump ‘daddy’?

Read time: 4 mins

In brief…

• Mark Rutte joked that “daddy has to use strong language” while speaking to Trump at the NATO summit, and praised the US president for influencing member states into increasing their contributions to the organisation.
• The News Agents say during Trump’s brief attendance at the summit, all focus shifted to keeping the president happy, following his angry exchange with reporters the previous day.
• NATO keynote speaker Peter Frankopan tells The News Agents that the only way to deal with Trump is to appeal to his narcissism and shower him with flattery.

What’s the story?

OK, so who had the secretary general of NATO calling Donald Trump ‘daddy’ during its global summit on their 2025 bingo card?

That’s what happened on the second day of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, with Mark Rutte telling the US president that he was responsible for member states, including the UK, increasing their contributions to 5% of GDP.

“Daddy has to sometimes use strong language," said Rutte, as Trump explained why he approved US strikes on Iran, describing the conflict between the countries to "two kids in a school yard".

Trump has threatened, on multiple occasions, to pull the US from NATO, and often cited the huge cost of membership to America for being part of the organisation.

Trump attended the summit for two hours during its second day, departing from The White House the day before after dropping a furious f-bomb in front of journalists questioning the ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Emily Maitlis describes it as a day of "fear and flattery" regarding the US president, with many likely expecting him to arrive in the same foul mood as TV cameras filmed departing his Washington residence.

“The question going through this has been; ‘how do we keep Donald Trump happy?’ Emily says.

“Donald Trump's relationship with NATO has been a deeply, deeply chequered one.

“During his first term, he repeatedly questioned why America was a member of it, and consistently floated the prospects that America might withdraw from it.”

NATO summit 'flattered Trump's ego'

Ahead of his arrival, Trump had also shared private messages from Rutte on social media, praising him for taking “decisive action” in aiding Israel in its military strikes on Iran.

But with a president as erratic and unpredictable as Trump, The News Agents say they are under no illusion why Rutte, and everyone else involved in the NATO summit, worked so hard during his brief attendance to keep him happy.

“It feels horrendously sycophantic, but we understand the game they're playing,” Emily adds.

“They saw what happened at the G7, they saw Trump leave early. 

“They saw how unhappy he was on the White House lawn before he left America to come here."

Historian and author Peter Frankopan, a keynote speaker at the NATO summit, tells The News Agents that Rutte's flattery of Trump "supplication" to the president, and also how those who engage with him feel they have to change their language and nature to keep him on side.

"It shows that the way in which you have to engage with Trump is to flatter his ego, to go for his narcissism, and to talk like him," Frankopan says – adding that this is even more extreme within his inner circle.

"JD Vance has remodelled his language to sound like Trump. The whole MAGA movement sounds like Trump – and in fact, even looks like Trump."

It is now known that US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities did not destroy its capability to produce a nuclear weapon, despite Trump's protestations, but Frankopan says that US strikes did still deal a major blow in the Middle East – if only metaphorically.

"What's important is that the US has shown it is willing to use force and is capable of doing it," he adds.

"Iran basically has been wiped clean of all of its air cover defence systems. So there's a free run for Israel or the United States, or anybody else, to take shots at whatever they like."

"Trump understands instinctively that Iran is in a critically weak position, and that gives an opportunity to force them to the negotiating table."

What's The News Agents' take?

Emily says the shared goal of Rutte, and other figureheads at the NATO summit was to ensure Trump remained committed to NATO and to defending the other member states, according to Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

And referring to him as "daddy", and showering him with praise, appear to have all been part of achieving that important political goal.

“In the past, American political leaders would want respect and they would want fidelity,” says Lewis Goodall.

“What Trump wants is tribute, and he wants fealty. He wants blind loyalty.”

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.