President Donald Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday.
That was significant in the wake of the unhappiness that the president has shown over the failure of some of the NATO allies in response to things like overflight requests from the U.S. to deal with Iran in Operation Epic Fury. Both he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated their displeasure over the response and were talking about re-examining the United States’ membership in NATO.
READ MORE: Watch: Rubio Delivers Blunt Message to NATO Allies – They Need to Listen
Allies Rally on Hormuz – Rutte’s Trump Praise Blows Up Dem Talking Points
Prior to the meeting, White House Press Secretary Katherine Leavitt said she was quoting Trump exactly on the matter before his meeting.
Leavitt: I have a direct quote from the president on NATO: They were tested and they failed.
It’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks, when it’s the American people who have been funding their defense. pic.twitter.com/PGbJKejrXR
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 8, 2026
“I have a direct quote from the president,” Leavitt said. “They were tested, and they failed.”
Leavitt blasted them. “It’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks, when it’s the American people who have been funding their defense.”
It is perhaps of note that there was no mutual photo op with Trump and Rutte to answer questions from the press.
Rutte went on CNN, and despite being there, he made it clear that he agreed with the reasons for Operation Epic Fury against Iran and said that he supported the president. Rutte explained how “thanks to President Trump’s leadership,” the world was safer because he acted to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon before it was too late.
🚨 JUST IN: NATO SecGen Mark Rutte goes FULL PRO-TRUMP MODE
Q: Is the world safer than before the Iran war started?
RUTTE: “ABSOLUTELY! This is thanks to President Trump’s leadership…it’s very important for our safety.” pic.twitter.com/saDoiClp79
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 8, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: NATO SecGen Mark Rutte STUNS THE WORLD, comes out in SUPPORT of President Trump flaming our allies for abandoning the US during Operation Epic Fury
This comes after Rutte met 47 at the White House
RUTTE: “Some of them [failed]!” 🔥
“[Iran] would lead to a North… pic.twitter.com/7pjlbm8nJQ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 8, 2026
Rutte concurred with Trump, saying that yes, some of the NATO countries did fail in their responses to his requests regarding the Iran action. But Rutte said that a large majority “have done what they promised before.” He said that was one of the things he and Trump talked about during their meeting. He argued that NATO protected both the U.S. and Europe, that it was a platform for projecting the U.S.’s power in the world.
Tapper tried to get Rutte to say something negative about Trump, asking about Trump’s comment about ending “civilization” in Iran. But Rutte wasn’t going for it.
🚨 JUST NOW: NATO SecGen Mark Rutte REFUSES to take the CNN bait about President Trump’s “end civilization” post
“I’m not commenting on everything…I SUPPORT the president when it comes to taking out the capacity of Iran to export CHAOS.” 🔥💯pic.twitter.com/H5WeTfG0gf
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 8, 2026
Rutte said he supported Trump when it comes to taking out the capacity of Iran to export chaos, and a large portion of Europe did as well.
He understands Trump, and they get along well, but he needs to get the rest of his NATO crew in line because they created this problem by their failure to act.
But the last comment of the day on the matter came from President Trump.
“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/xgEV8P1n4n
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 8, 2026
“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” – President Donald J. Trump
It doesn’t sound like Trump’s opinion of NATO was changed by the meeting.
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