Nato chief Rutte defends flattery of Trump, who he called ‘daddy’

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday likened President Donald Trump to a “daddy” intervening in a schoolyard brawl after the US leader repeatedly berated Middle East foes Israel and Iran this week including with a profanity.

Talking to reporters alongside Rutte at a Nato alliance summit, Trump again berated Israel and Iran.

“They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about two to three minutes, then it’s easy to stop them,” he said.

In response, Rutte laughed and said: “And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get (them to) stop.”

On Tuesday, after a ceasefire deal, Trump had raised eyebrows by saying Israel and Iran had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing”.

With the 32-member Nato alliance endeavouring to placate Trump after complaints that it was overreliant on US financial and military muscle, Rutte was asked if he might be over-flattering the US president.