Defense

Trump slams NATO after meeting with Mark Rutte

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by Tara Suter - 04/08/26 10:05 PM ET

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by Tara Suter - 04/08/26 10:05 PM ET

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President Trump went after the NATO alliance following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte — comments that came after the Trump administration had recently expressed frustration with members of the alliance.

“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!!!” Trump said in a Wednesday evening post on Truth Social, referencing his push to take over Greenland that he ramped up a few months ago.

Rutte’s meeting with Trump at the White House lasted about two hours on Wednesday. It followed the Trump administration’s rising frustration with NATO allies due to their refusal to enter the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran.

The NATO leader has largely backed the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran, but the alliance has faced recent threats from Trump about withdrawing.

Trump requires congressional approval to withdraw from NATO. However, there are other actions he can take to reduce cooperation, and Europeans have said that Trump’s threats by themselves have badly hurt NATO.

In January, Rutte successfully calmed a crisis over Greenland amid the Davos summit, pushing the president away from threats to seize the Arctic island by force and proposing a negotiation framework.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. would reexamine its relationship with NATO following the end of the conflict in Iran.

“Ultimately, that’s a decision for the President to make, and he’ll have to make it,” Rubio told host Sean Hannity.

“But I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to re-examine whether or not this Alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose, or is it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our Allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights and they’re going to deny us overflight,” he added.

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