NATO chief explains calling Donald Trump ‘daddy’ – ‘Sometimes daddy will get offended’

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has finally explained why he called Donald Trump ‘daddy’, blaming the embarassing moment on a ‘language problem’

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NATO’s Secretary General has explained why he called Donald Trump “daddy”.

Mark Rutte‘s nickname for the US president went viral after their joint appearance last June. And he was asked about it today following a meeting with Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

Rutte claimed it was a “language problem”. He told reporters: “In Dutch, you would say – the translation of your father is daddy – and I said, ‘sometimes daddy has to be angry.

“So I was not calling him my daddy. But of course, daddy has all sorts of special connotations, and now I have to live with it for the rest of my life.” Rutte also admitted it “follows me a little”, adding that both he and Trump “own it”.

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Rutte also declined to say whether Trump had repeated his threat to quit NATO, saying only that the US leader was disappointed in some allies for being too slow to help with the Iran war.

Rutte’s remarks came a day after he weathered a fresh ordeal with Trump, following months of tensions over threats to seize Greenland.

The Iran war on Iran does not involve the world’s biggest military alliance and NATO allies were not consulted about it, but Trump has criticised fellow treaty members for their lack of support.

Since launching the war, Trump has derided US allies as “cowards”, slammed NATO as “a paper tiger” and compared Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, who is probably best remembered for a policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany.

In recent days, Trump has suggested that the US might leave NATO. He already threatened to walk out in 2018 during his first term. His complaint now is that some allies ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade waterway.

After the talks with Rutte, the alliance’s most powerful leader took to social media to show his annoyance. “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Trump posted.

Asked repeatedly since then whether Trump intends to take America out of NATO, Rutte has said little, but he has not denied that such a threat was made.

“I sensed his disappointment about the fact that he felt that too many allies were not with him,” was all Rutte would say today.