Mark Rutte was in Washington to “preserve NATO cohesion, faced with tensions with Trump,” according to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir. However, according to European and American press reports, his meeting with Donald Trump did not go as well as he had hoped. The NATO Secretary-General may have claimed to have had an “open and friendly discussion” with the Republican leader, but the future of the Atlantic Alliance seems uncertain once again.
“No European politician has adopted such an obsequious and servile attitude, to the point of becoming dominant, as Mark Rutte vis-à-vis the American administration,” remarks Die Tageszeitung. “Yet his efforts have proven to be in vain.” According to the left-wing German newspaper, American diatribes against a supposedly ungrateful and selfish Europe, which does not invest enough in its defense, have intensified since the Dutchman took office. His most recent meeting at the White House was just the latest example: “There has been no progress in sight.”
“After the meeting, Trump posted a publication on his Truth Social network that was far from a message of appeasement,” notes Der Spiegel. He angrily asserts that “NATO was not there when [the États-“
/2026/04/08/69d63b6f1e5b8538714555.jpg "Israel continues its military operations in southern Lebanon, despite international condemnation and the")
/2026/04/09/69d79dce94502980940400.jpg "I know it worries you, but everything will be fine: how Donald Trump led the United States into war.")
