Nato Chief Mark Rutte Won’t Even Condemn Trump For Calling Allies ‘Cowards’

Nato’s secretary-general refused to push back against Donald Trump after the US president described the alliance as a “paper tiger” made up of “cowards”.

Trump lashed out at the defensive organisation over the weekend for refusing to support for his ongoing attacks on Iran.

But, when asked for his response to Trump’s attack, Mark Rutte seemed to offer little rebuttal – and even justified the US’s controversial decision not to warn their allies about the initial strikes on Tehran ahead of time.

He told CBS’s Face The Nation: “I’ve been in several conversations this week with the president and the good news is that, look, we had the US for weeks planning for Epic Fury.

“For reasons of security and safety, they could not share with European allies and allies around the world and partner countries, because that would have jeopardised the effect of the first attack.”

He claimed: “It’s only logical that European countries take a couple of weeks to come together.

“Since Thursday, 22 countries – most of them Nato but also Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, the UAE – have come together to answer three questions: what do we need, when do we need it and where do we need it?

“These three questions we are going to work through to answer the president’s call to make sure that we secure the free-sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.”

On Friday, Trump wrote on TruthSocial: “Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER! They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran.

“Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices.

“So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”

This is not the first time Rutte has gone overboard to praise Trump – he famously called the president “daddy” in June last year.

Pressure on the White House is rising as oil prices continue to climb following Iran’s effective closure of the major oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has called on his allies to send warships to help keep the waterway open, but so far none have leapt to support his aggression.

The US president also appeared to openly mock Keir Starmer by sharing a skit from SNL UK where the prime minister was terrified of speaking to Trump.

The two spoke on the phone hours later about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, though it’s unclear if the sketch was mentioned.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook played down the implicit criticism, telling Good Morning Britain on Monday: “If our prime minister had time to watch that skit, I think he’d see it in the light it’s intended. It’s a piece of comedy.”