President Donald Trump said NATO "wasn't there" after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. But NATO head Mark Rutte said "a large majority of European countries" lived up to their side of the deal.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Bt7tNATO chief Mark Rutte has been dubbed the 'Trump whisper' for his ability to flatter the US president [FILE: January 21, 2026]Image: Evan Vucci/AP Photo/picture allianceAdvertisementUS President Donald Trump was "absolutely disappointed" during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday.
The two leaders met at the White House to discuss the US-Israeli war against Iran, in which NATO allies did not actively participate.
"NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform shortly after the meeting.
Rutte — the former Dutch prime minister who has been dubbed the "Trump whisperer" for his ability to flatter the US president — shared some of the details in an interview with CNN afterward.
"This was a very frank, a very open discussion. But also a discussion between two good friends," Rutte said of the meeting held behind closed doors at the White House.
The meeting came a day after the US and Iran agreed to a tenuous two-week ceasefire.
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Trump has repeatedly called NATO a "paper tiger" and threatened to pull out of the 32-member military alliance that spans Europe and North America.
Ahead of the meeting, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that Trump had once again discussed pulling out of NATO.
"I think it's something the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary General Rutte," she told reporters before the leaders met.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was looking to punish some NATO members he believed were unhelpful during the war by potentially moving US troops out of their countries.
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Following up on Leavitt's earlier comments, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Rutte whether Trump said the US would withdraw from NATO.
The NATO chief did not directly answer the question but instead conveyed the US president's disappointment.
"Let me be clear, he is absolutely disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point," Rutte said.
"But at the same time, I was also able to point to the fact that the large majority of European nations have been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they live up to the commitments," Rutte said.
He also pointed to the efforts by UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer to convene 34 other countries to explore ways to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping.
The war in Iran has worsened transatlantic anxieties over Russia's war in Ukraine, Trump's comments earlier this year to take control of Greenland and US calls for European countries to increase military spending.
In a statement read out by Leavitt ahead of the meeting, Trump said of NATO members: "They were tested, and they failed."
Rutte conceded that "some of them" had failed the test but said "a large majority of European countries" nevertheless fulfilled their NATO obligations.
"What the US did with Iran, they could do because so many European countries lived up to those commitments," Rutte continued. "Not all of them, and I totally understand his disappointment about that, but it's, therefore, a nuanced picture."
A NATO spokesperson later said on X: "The secretary general underscored the importance of allies continuing to step up to deliver a stronger, fairer alliance."
