NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: Europe should actually be “happy” that Trump is in power
It's a good thing that Donald Trump was re-elected US president, because NATO allies would not have increased defense spending without him, the military alliance's secretary general, Mark Rutte, said on Wednesday.
The Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte PHOTO Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
Rutte's statements in Davos come as Trump steps up threats to seize Greenland from Denmark, a move that would undermine the decades-old transatlantic alliance, POLITICO writes.
“I'm not popular now because I'm defending Donald Trump, but I really think you can be happy that he's there because he's forced us Europeans to mobilize, take responsibility and take better care of our own defense.”Rutte said in a panel discussion titled “Can Europe defend itself?” at the World Economic Forum.
According to Rutte, major European economies — including Spain, Italy and France — would never have agreed to allocate 2% of GDP to defense if Trump had not become US president again.
“Never, without Donald Trump this would have happened. Now they're all at 2%”Rutte said. “I'm absolutely convinced that without Donald Trump you wouldn't have made these decisions, and they're crucial, especially for NATO, on the European and Canadian side, to really assume its responsibilities in the post-Cold War world.”
His country, the Netherlands, which he led as prime minister for 14 years from 2010 to 2024, has been accused of underfunding defense during his tenure.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has forced European countries to increase defense spending while also preparing for a possible drawdown of US troops on the continent as Trump shifts America's military priorities.
“The Americans still have over 80,000 troops in Europe… including Poland and Germany, so they are still heavily involved in European defense. And yes, they need to focus more towards Asia. So it makes sense that we in Europe would be expected to gradually mobilize.”Rutte continued, adding that the nuclear umbrella remains the ultimate guarantee.
NATO allies last summer agreed to set a new defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP by 2035. That requirement was originally raised by Trump, who has repeatedly raised fears among the allies that he could leave the military alliance that underpins European security.
