NATO chief Mark Rutte has a tall task ahead of him today: Assure President Donald Trump that the alliance will do more to meet his demands, while not overpromising on behalf of allies.
A White House meeting between the two men is meant to set the stage for a major NATO summit in Turkey in two weeks, and head off any major confrontations before the leaders of the 32 NATO nations gather to set goals for next year.
But there’s simmering tension over Iran and some countries still not meeting agreed-upon defense spending targets. And the Trump team has heightened anxieties with new plans to reduce any American military help should a crisis emerge on the continent.
Both U.S. and European officials say the ties that bind Washington to the alliance remain strong. But Rutte will have to walk a tightrope between promising to meet Trump’s ultimatums, even as some NATO members struggle to spend more on defense while dealing with their own political and fiscal realities at home. And, realistically, for countries such as the U.K., Spain and Czechia, there may not be more to give in terms of Trump’s demands.
All this leaves some allied nations feeling nervous, both about the sitdown in Washington and the major meeting in two weeks.
“This could be a tough meeting before potentially tough meetings in Ankara,” said one official from a NATO ally who, like others, was granted anonymity to speak openly. “Trump isn’t happy, and there might not be much the alliance can do in the short term. They already did 5 percent [of GDP on defense], and there aren’t a lot of new tricks up their sleeves,” other than pointing to their work to spend more on defense and buying more U.S. weaponry.
Trump remains stung by NATO members not rushing warships to the Middle East after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz in February, and on Monday he continued his fusillade of attacks on the alliance.
“They say, ‘No, we’d rather not help,’” in Iran, Trump said at the White House, complaining that European countries failed to play enough of a role in the conflict. “Stupid thing to say because we can say that to them if we want, and we might.”
Rutte and Trump have developed a good working relationship since he took over the alliance’s top job in late 2024, and he and his staff are looking to keep that dynamic intact.
“Rutte’s obviously trying to test the waters,” said Joel Linnainmäki of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. “He’s trying to make sure there are no surprises from Trump’s side” at Ankara and “perceive the possible pitfalls” at the summit.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said that Trump had “a strong relationship” with Rutte.
“However, the President remains firm: NATO countries must take greater responsibility for their own defense — and they should have been there for the United States when we were in the middle of the successful Operation Epic Fury,” she said.
The good vibes between the two leaders lean on flattery; Rutte once infamously referred to Trump as Europe’s “daddy,” much to the frustration of practically everyone else in the alliance.
The high point in Rutte’s 20-month tenure was last year’s summit in The Hague, where he won consensus for the 5 percent defense spending goal along with Trump’s praises. Most everyone left the summit satisfied, amid pledges from allies to spend more and buy more American weaponry.
This year’s summit likely won’t feature those kinds of big swings, but allies are looking to reaffirm to the Trump team that they are doing more, even as they move to fill gaps left by the withdrawals or redeployments of American troops and equipment.
But concerns persist.
“Actually, we have a pretty positive story to tell about the alliance’s transformation and the Europeans/Canada stepping up,” said a second NATO diplomat. “Europe bashing like the one publicly performed by the secretary of War last Thursday would be counterproductive."
The talks at the White House “will focus on how allies are delivering on the commitments made last year at the NATO Summit in The Hague, including on increasing defence investment, expanding defence industrial production, and continuing support for Ukraine,” said a third NATO official familiar with the plans.
Rutte does have some cards to play.
The alliance has pumped tens of billions into their defense budgets in recent years and moved to increase domestic production and stockpiling of weaponry.
The White House meeting will "show that allies are pushing more investments” into military equipment, said a fourth NATO official. “We’re stepping up and Rutte needs to continue to make the case that the U.S. enjoys significant benefits from remaining an active member of NATO."
One of those benefits is a program where NATO allies buy American weapons and munitions for eventual shipment to Ukraine, fulfilling Trump’s demand for economic benefits while arming Ukraine in its four-plus-year war with Russia.
A fifth NATO official said that Rutte’s message should be “unity, no surprises and no public expressions of discord.” But much of that depends on the overall mood of the American president and his top advisers.
Jerry Wu contributed to this report.
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