Rutte flattered Trump
“Tonight you will fly to another great success”
Updated on June 24, 2025 – 6:43 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Trump’s participation in the NATO summit and the whereabouts of the United States in the alliance are important Secretary General Rutte. He now emphasizes this in an exuberant letter.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote US President Donald Trump a letter in front of the NATO summit in the Haag in which he congratulates him exuberantly on the successes of the past few days. “I congratulate you and thank you for your determined action in Iran, which was really extraordinary and that nobody else dared to do,” praised Rutte Trump in the letter that he promptly published in his online service Truth Social.
Rutte, whose office confirmed the content of the letter, copied in the letter partly Trump’s style when writing messages, for example by using capital letters. “Europe will spend money in a big way as it should be, and that will be your victory,” says the letter.
“Tonight you will fly to another great success in the Hague,” Rutte wrote with reference to the NATO summit in the Hague, where the output goal of the NATO countries is to be decided on Wednesday. It stipulates that the allies spend at least 3.5 percent of the respective gross domestic product for defense by 2035 and a further 1.5 percent for defense -relevant infrastructure. This together corresponds to the five percent that Trump had demanded from the Allies.
“It was not easy, but we all made them all committed to the five percent,” says Ruttes letter to Trump. That is something that “no American president has achieved in decades”.
Rutte also alluded to the fact that Barack Obama and Joe Biden had already campaigned for the Europeans to invest a significantly higher part of their gross domestic product in defense, but only with a limited success. Literally, Rutte also added “Europe is going to Pay in a Big Way, as They Should, and it will be your win.” This can be translated as: “Europe will be asked to pay vigorously – as it should be – and it will be your victory.”
Keeping the United States under Trump in NATO has become a priority of Ruttes. For this purpose, he not only got used to flattering dealings with the US President, but also tailored the program of the summit. “See you at the dinner of his majesty tonight,” wrote Rutte at the end of the letter, knowing about Trump’s preference for pomp and nobility.
The Dutch king Willem-Alexander organizes a reception for the heads of state and government on Tuesday evening- and invited Trump to spend the night in his palace.
