There was little doubt about it, the survival of the 75-year alliance was at stake. But with Iran firing missiles at US bases and Europe divided once again over defence spending, would the president of the United States turn up?
By the end of the week, though, they were calling Donald Trump “daddy” at Nato.
The conclusion of a summit that many feared would result in browbeating not backslapping left leaders across Europe sighing with relief. “It didn’t get out of hand,” said Dick Schoof, the Dutch prime minister, expressing a “combination of relief and happiness”.
One diplomat went further. “We made it through the minefield,” they said. “There was so much that could have gone wrong, beginning with a no show. There were no bust ups, the agreement made it over the line and the mood music was good even if it was too cheesy for squeamish tastes.”
The subjects of division were many, not least European reluctance to endorse America’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, actions which President Macron of France and others decried as illegal. Then there were the problems closer to home to consider. The Spanish, led by the embattled prime minister Pedro Sánchez, were digging in over defence spending. A summit communiqué with a firm nod in the direction of Washington had said the members would finally commit to spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence, a long-standing demand from Trump.
Sánchez, rocked by a corruption scandal at home and constantly in the headlines for the wrong reasons, seemed set on asserting Spanish sovereignty by taking on Trump. It might have looked good to Spaniards, but it looked bad for Nato.
Anxiety was heightened as the ceasefire in the Middle East threatened to unravel. Then, there was a leak to contend when a broadcaster reported that Trump would stay the night as the guest of the Dutch king. Hardly Watergate, but embarrassment was to be avoided at all costs. “Is he coming? Until he steps on the red carpet, I won’t believe it,” said one official, “I am genuinely terrified.”
• Behind the scenes of Trump’s ceasefire deal
Mark Rutte, the Dutch Nato secretary-general often described as the “fluisteraar” or “Trump whisperer” was taking no chances. “Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran,” he wrote before Trump had set foot on Air Force One. “You are now flying to another great success in the Hague,” Rutte added as he himself flew into a storm for, effectively, lending Nato’s backing to Trump’s actions in the Middle East. There was a promise to conclude: “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your success!”
Trump was on his way but he was in a bad mood. “They don’t know what the f*** they’re doing,” he said of Israel and Iran as he left the White House for the Hague. It got worse. On the flight across the Atlantic, he questioned whether the US would automatically come to the aid of European allies, such as Spain, under the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defence clause. “Depends on your definition,” he said.
‘Daddy’ Trump has sorted out the Middle East, says the secretary-general of Nato
From left, President Macron, Rutte, Trump and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister
NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
But the Dutch, like other nations that still have a royal family, had a secret weapon to deploy. After emerging from the presidential jet in his white Maga cap, Trump was whisked off to be welcomed with full fanfare by King Willem-Alexander. There was charred tuna, veal and chocolate cake in the splendour of the Oranjezaal, or Orange room, in the Huis ten Bosch palace.
Trump sat between the king and Giorgia Meloni, the populist Italian prime minister and a rare European admirer of the president. He was clearly enjoying himself. There was a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran to celebrate. “I had a good line of sight,” said Schoof. “The president was very animated in conversation, there was a relaxed atmosphere.”
Nato heads of state enjoyed charred tuna, veal and chocolate cake
REMKO DE WAAL/EPA
An even more relaxed atmosphere was to be found where Trump would spend the night. He had an unprecedented invitation by the Dutch royal couple to stay the night in their 17th-century place that nestles in green woodlands at the Hague.
The following morning Trump had breakfast with Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, describing them as “beautiful and spectacular people”. Invited to wax lyrical about Trump, the Dutch king merely said: “What happens in the palace, stays in the palace.”
King Willem-Alexander, Trump and Queen Maxima
SPLASH
Then came the moment that could for many people define Trump’s visit to the Netherlands. Speaking alongside Rutte, Trump was discussing how the Middle East powers were behaving like “two kids in a schoolyard”. “Daddy sometimes has to use strong language,” interrupted Rutte, a reference to Trump’s previous use of the F-word. Trump was delighted and the cameras caught Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, shaking his head in disbelief and laughing.
All of a sudden Trump was ebullient and the mood was good. Sánchez backed off his fight, choosing not to mention spending targets and talking about Spain’s important military contribution to the alliance, promising to meet the operational targets. Many leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, flagged military spending on US hardware, such as F-35 fighter jets and Patriot air defence systems.
Rutte, though, would face a backlash for his supplicant approach to Trump. He admitted that his comments were “a bit of a question of taste”. The president was not complaining. “He likes me,” he said of the Dutchman. “And if he doesn’t, I’ll come back and I’ll hit him hard. He did it very affectionately. You’re my daddy.” It was all a bit much for many working behind the scenes. “We were told that Rutte was a Trump whisperer but this is indecent,” said one diplomat.
• ‘Daddy’ Trump takes centre stage as Nato bows to his demands
Schoof, as summit host, described the Nato gathering as “historic” but was less sure how history would judge the flattery. “I don’t know,” he admitted, “for us, the summit had to be a success. You do everything to put the government leaders at ease. Some more than others.”
It’s not only Europeans paying their way that was pleasing Trump. His new nickname was too. The White House released a video showing the president as he glad-handled assorted alliance leaders set to a song by Usher, who sings “so all my ladies, say, “Hey, hey, hey, daddy”.
After the song came the “official TRUMP DADDY shirt”, sold by the Trump National Committee, a fundraising vehicle, which gives 77 per cent of the cash to Trump’s Never Surrender campaign used for his legal, consulting, travel, staffing and other expenses and funding candidates.
A minimum donation of $35 will buy a bright orange T-shirt emblazoned with Trump’s mugshot and the single word “DADDY” in black capital letters. The shirt colour may have been chosen to reflect Rutte’s home country.
“When Biden was president, we were LAUGHED at on the world stage,” Trump wrote in an email to supporters. “But thanks to your favourite president (ME!) we are respected once again. Moments ago, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte called me DADDY on the world stage. How nice! So for a limited time, I want YOU to own the official TRUMP DADDY shirt!”