Rutte can breathe a sigh of relief and drop the word “Daddy” from his vocabulary for the foreseeable future. It looks like all that flattery paid off, with many reporting the NATO Summit a huge success.
But what exactly happened? Who’s the “Daddy?” Let’s break down the outcome of the NATO Summit.
There was A LOT of flattery and fanfare
It looks like a large part of Mark Rutte’s role as NATO chief included flattering Donald Trump wherever possible.
Day one of the summit began with a congratulatory text sent to Trump as he made his way to the Netherlands. This was then followed by a special shoutout to Trump by both Rutte (shocker) and the King himself.
READ MORE | Rutte congratulates and thanks Trump during NATO Summit, US president enjoyed sleepover with royals
A certain Trump lookalike also managed to get a word in with the president, snapping a selfie that will haunt us all.
Thank you so much Mr President @realDonaldTrump for the excellent meeting we just had and our discussion about the need for tougher immigration laws!
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) June 25, 2025
🇺🇸 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/aLkTvPTJT1
Following a successful sleepover at the King and Queen’s, it was time to see whether all that flattery worked.
And it certainly did
A very important talking point for Trump was defence spending, with the president of the US calling on NATO members to increase their defence spending to 5% of their countries’ GDP.
Rutte was able to negotiate this down to something more feasible for NATO’s members, while also appeasing Trump.
According to RTL Nieuws, all 32 NATO member states have agreed to spend 3.5% of their GDP on defence, plus a further 1.5% on “supporting matters.” The members will have until 2035 to achieve this.
With a plan of action and a flattered US president, the summit even managed to touch on the topic of Ukraine.
According to Rutte, NATO members will continue to support Ukraine, with the NATO chief saying “We call on Russia to put an end to its aggression against Ukraine.”
Ok, but “Daddy!?”
While Rutte has managed to achieve much over the past few days, perhaps the moment that will be burned into all our minds for the coming years is him referring to Trump as “Daddy.”
Speaking with the press following the summit, Trump and Rutte addressed the US president’s use of a certain expletive when talking about Iran and Israel.
Rutte jumped in to explain for Trump, saying “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.”
Yep, that actually happened, here’s the proof:
The use of “Daddy” did not go unnoticed with headlines across the world referring to it.
And if Rutte thought this would all blow over by the morning, he can think again.
Even the White House has decided to get in on the meme, using Usher’s song “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” to create a sort of promo video about the president’s visit to the Netherlands.
That’s enough political news for today, we think.
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