NATO chief defends calling Trump 'daddy'
What's the story
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte compared Donald Trump to a "daddy" intervening in a schoolyard brawl after the US president chastised Israel and Iran, including using profanity for violating the ceasefire he helped broker. Trump, who is at the NATO Summit in the Netherlands, again berated the Middle East foes while talking to reporters alongside Rutte. "They've had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can't stop them," Trump said.
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'Didn't call him daddy'
To this, Rutte laughed and added: "And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get (them to) stop." Rutte has since clarified why he used "daddy," saying, "In Europe, I hear countries sometimes saying, 'Hey, Mark, will the US stay with us?' And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, 'Hey, are you still staying with the family?' So in that sense, I used 'daddy'—not 'that I was calling...Trump daddy."
Controversial comments
Trump's controversial remarks
On Tuesday, after the ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel was violated for a brief moment, Trump, furious, told reporters that "they don't know what the f*** they're doing." Trump had helped broker the ceasefire between Israel and Iran this week with Qatar after a two-week conflict. This was after the US had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, which in retaliation fired missiles targeting Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar—the largest US military base in the region.
Rutte
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote to Trump
However, Trump confirmed that Iran had notified the US before launching missiles at the Al-Udeid base. After the US bombing, Rutte wrote Trump a series of text messages that appeared to show the latter congratulating him on his "decisive action in Iran." "Mr. President, dear Donald...Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran...no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer," Rutte's message read.
Message
NATO members to spend 5% of their GDP on defense
Rutte's message continued, "You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we've got them all signed on to 5 percent!" He was referring to other NATO member countries, most of whom have signed on to the new pledge to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, a demand that the Republican president has been pushing for months. This marks a significant increase from the previous goal of 2% of GDP.