Trump hails ‘great victory' as Nato leaders boost defence spending
President Trump hailed a 'great victory' at the Nato summit in the Netherlands after alliance members agreed to a new 5 per cent target for defence spending and apparently told him: 'Thank God for the US.'
He said he was leaving the two-day meeting 'thinking people love their countries' and that Nato 'is not a rip-off' after years of attacking fellow member states for not spending enough on defence.
At a lengthy press conference, he showered praise on Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general, who he said was 'terrific'. Rutte had earlier referred to Trump as 'daddy' for his role in securing a ceasefire in the Middle East.
Trump was flanked by Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, referred to as the 'secretary of war'.
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Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'I didn't call him daddy!' Nato chief insists he did not call Donald Trump daddy... like that
Nato chief Mark Rutte has been forced to backtrack on an embarrassing remark - where he apparently called US president Donald Trump 'daddy.' During a meeting of the defence bloc in the Hague yesterday, Rutte and Trump met following the US president's crass comment on the Iran-Israel war. It was there that the US President he said: 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing.' Rutte said on Wednesday that 'Daddy has to use strong language' to get Israel and Iran to sort things out, to which Trump agreed. 'You have to use strong language. Every once in a while you have to use a certain word,' the president said. But the Nato chief's comments raised eyebrows across the world, and later in the day Rutte, the former prime minister of the Netherlands, was forced to backtrack. He said: 'The daddy thing, I didn't call [Trump] daddy, what I said, is that sometimes... In Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, "hey, Mark, will the US stay with us?" 'And I said, "that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, 'hey, are you still staying with the family'"? So in that sense, I use daddy, not that I was calling President Trump daddy.' But Trump himself appeared to enjoy being called 'daddy' as he was referred to at Wednesday's Nato Summit in the Hague by Rutte, who has led the defence bloc since October 2024. During Trump's whirlwind press conference that marked his final appearance at the summit, a reporter asked him how he felt when Rutte had referred to the American president as 'daddy' earlier in the day. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) giggles behind President Donald Trump (left) as he answered questions about being called 'daddy' by Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte during the Wednesday conference in the Hague, Netherlands 'No, he likes me, I think he likes me! If he doesn't I'll let you know and I'll come back and I'll hit him hard OK?' Trump told the journalist. 'He did it very affectionately though,' Trump continued. '"Daddy, you're my daddy,"' the president said with a smile. Alongside Trump was the usually stoic Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But the former Florida senator couldn't contain his laughter, bending down and giggling during the back-and-forth. The president had previously mouthed the F-word at a campaign rally in 2016 and used the word 'bulls***' while making a briefing room appearance earlier this year. Trump also said during his meeting with Rutte that he believed the Iran-Israel ceasefire will hold. 'They're not going to be fighting each other, they've had it,' the president argued. 'Like two kids in the schoolyard, they fight like hell, you can't stop them. Let them fight for two or three minutes then it's easy to stop them.' The 'schoolyard' comment prompted Rutte's 'daddy' observation. During Trump's press conference, the reporter followed up by asking if the U.S. president viewed 'your Nato allies as sort of children?' 'They're obviously listening to you and they're spending more, and are obviously appreciative of that. But do you think they can actually defend Europe on their own, without you?' the journalist asked. Trump said he believed the European nations would 'need a little help at the beginning.' 'And I think they'll be able to,' he continued. 'And I think they're going to remember this day and this is a big day for Nato, this is a very big day.' Earlier on Wednesday the Nato nations agreed to something Trump had long pushed - a massive increase in defence spending. Most of the 32 Nato countries agreed to language that said 'allies commit to invest 5 percent of GDP annually on core defense requirements as well as defense-and security-related spending by 2035.' But Nato member Spain pushed back on the agreement, and said it would increase its spending to just 2 per cent, which Trump said he would respond to by forcing high tariffs on the nation. He said he doesn't know what 'the problem' with Spain, calling the country's position unfair to other members of the Nato alliance. 'They want a little bit of a free ride, but they'll have to pay it back to us on trade,' he said, making up for it through higher tariffs. But Spain belongs to the European Union, the world's largest trading bloc, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of all 27 member countries. They are not meant to negotiate trade deals individually. Asked about that, Trump said, 'I'm going to negotiate directly with Spain. I'm going to do it myself.' The reporter pressed again asking Trump if the European nations could defend themselves without the U.S. 'Well ask Mark, I think you have to ask Mark, OK?' Trump said. The president was previously nicknamed 'daddy' by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who broke with Trump recently over the president's decision to bomb Iran's three nuclear sites this past weekend. The president has since left The Hague after spending less than 24 hours there for the NATO summit. The summit wrapped up Wednesday and Trump held a subsequent press conference. Air Force One, which had touched down on Tuesday at 7:36 p.m. local time, took off from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol shortly before 6 p.m. local time. The flight was expected to take more than six hours, putting Trump back at the White House on Wednesday evening.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
From saluting SS camps to playing with Goering's model trains - new podcast reveals how Hitler manipulated a 'deluded' Edward VIII into becoming a 'Nazi puppet'
On the final instalment of the Mail's three-part podcast miniseries examining Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Kate Williams examine how deeply the exiled couple became entangled with Nazi Germany. After abdicating in December 1936, Edward and his twice-divorced wife Wallis found themselves seeking new allies, having been effectively ostracised by the British establishment and denied the full privileges of royalty. Buoyed by the propaganda triumph of that summer's Berlin Olympics, Hitler saw in the royal couple an opportunity to lend his regime further international legitimacy. Wanting to still appear a statesman, Edward accepted an invitation to visit Nazi Germany in 1937, a decision that prompted his brother King George VI to write to Edward's political advisor Walter Monckton that the plan was 'a bombshell, and a bad one'. By 1937, Europe was well aware of Nazi Germany's dismantling of democracy, persecution of Jews through the Nuremberg Laws, illegal rearmament, and aggressive territorial ambitions, making Edward's visit a highly controversial legitimisation of an openly authoritarian regime. The photographs from the visit and the rumours it generated would forever tarnish the former King's reputation. This episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things explores what the couple did in Germany and investigates whether Edward was truly willing to collaborate with the Nazis should they occupy Britain. Edward and Wallis's 1937 Tour of Nazi Germany Beyond mere self-aggrandisement, royal biographer Robert Hardman believes Edward and Wallis agreed to the tour because they harboured fascist sympathies. In the late 1930s, this was seen as problematic but not entirely unusual among the British upper classes. Across Europe, many aristocrats viewed fascism as a bulwark against the spread of communism. 'Throughout the story of Edward and Wallis Simpson, there is a swastika', Hardman said. 'There was Nazi influence all the way through. In the run up the abdication, Hitler was issuing instructions to his diplomats in London to try and stop it. Hitler believed Edward was on his side. 'There are well documented stories Simpson's links to Nazi politicians and diplomats in London. 'It was clear by 1937, that Edward VIII would, in any given situation, lean towards the Nazi side.' Upon arrival in Germany, Edward foolishly sees himself as a 'peacemaker', as Kate Williams told the podcast. 'That vision he had of himself was hopelessly naive', Williams described. 'Because for Nazi Germany, the former King turning up and having the red carpet laid out for them is giving consent to the regime. 'It's treated like a Royal progress – crowds' wave away. The couple are greeted by the British national anthem accompanied by Nazi salutes. They dine with high-ranking Nazis including Goering, Goebbels, Ribbentrop and Speer. 'All of the Nazi charm is brought out to bear on Edward and Wallis, and they are there with their eyes closed to the reality of the situation.' During the tour, Edward is taken to munitions factories, SS training camps and Hitler's Salzburg Mountain retreat, the Berghof. An SS trooper would later recount how Edward relished in saluting the soldiers and declaring the shared racial ties between the British and German peoples. Visiting Berchtesgraden for a private meeting with Hitler, Edward reportedly killed time waiting for the Fuhrer by viewing Goering's prized model train set. Hardman explained: 'There's a hilarious lunch where Goering entertains the couple: he lays on this chorus of mountain huntsman with these horns to serenade them Get your weekly dose of Royal scandals and palace intrigue on this Mail podcast Hosted by Royal Historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams, Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things looks at the Royal Family - the secrets, the palace intrigues, and the Crown's bloodiest moments. Listen wherever you get your podcasts now. 'Of course, they feel terribly important. At last, Edward thinks, I am being treated like the King I once was, and my wife, the Queen she should have been. 'After lunch, Goering shows them his model railway set, and they're utterly charmed by this. You get these amazing glimpses into what a bunch of crackpots these guys all were.' Exactly what the former King and Hitler discussed in their private meeting remains unknown to this day. According to his advisor Dudley Forwood, Edward told the dictator that the 'British and German races are one and they should always remain one.' In 1966, Edward told a reporter that he and Hitler had discussed the need to destroy communist Russia. Williams said: 'The King later says of the meeting that Hitler made him realise Red Russia was the true enemy. 'He convinced him that Great Britain and Europe should encourage Germany to march East and crush communism once and for all. 'The Duke of Windsor becomes obsessed with the idea that he and the Nazis can be best friends – he's impossibly naive about the realities of the regime.' Following their meeting, rumours would dog Edward that he had tacitly agreed to replace his brother as King in the event of a Nazi occupation of Great Britain. Addressing the veracity of these rumours, Hardman said: 'I do think Edward was deluded – his sympathies did lie strongly with the Nazi cause. 'But it's probably pushing it too far to suggest that there was a plot to put the Duke of Windsor on the throne. 'What is true is that when asked whether he would ever come back to Britain to be President if we ever became a republic – he said yes. 'He was happy to countenance the fall of the monarchy and taking over some sort of head of state role. 'Whether he would be willing to do that under the aegis of Nazi Germany is a deeper question.' To hear about the political fallout of the visit and how Edward and Wallis spent the war, search for Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Nato's charm wins over 'daddy' Trump: U.S. will stand by its allies, he says… as they pledge extra defence spending
Donald Trump yesterday said he no longer believed Nato is a 'rip-off' and that 'of course' he would help defend Europe if it came under attack. Leaders breathed a sigh of relief as the US President hailed the military alliance and didn't throw a grenade into its summit – as he has done at previous gatherings. In what was largely an exercise in taming the leader of Nato's biggest spender, the alliance's boss Mark Rutte even appeared to joke that Mr Trump was 'Daddy'. There had been growing jitters before the two-day summit after Mr Trump suggested, while travelling to the gathering in The Hague, that he could dismiss Article 5 of the Nato treaty in future. This states that an attack on one Nato country is an attack on all and that member nations will help defend that ally. Asked on Air Force One about whether he would abide by Article 5, he said it 'depends on your definition', adding: 'There's numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right?' But yesterday, asked if he stood by the mutual defence clause, he said: 'I stand with it, that's why I'm here. If I didn't stand with it, I wouldn't be here.' Pressed on whether he would jump to the defence of Nato allies if they came under attack, Mr Trump replied: 'Yeah, of course, why would I be here?' In a post-summit press conference, he added that he had a new view of Nato after seeing how intent leaders were on defending their countries. 'I left here [feeling] differently,' he said. 'These people really love their countries. It's not a rip-off, and we're here to help them protect their country. They want to protect their country, and they need the United States.' Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez was the only leader to refuse to agree to a new target of spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence and security by 2035. All of Nato's 31 other leaders signed up to the target, a long-held demand of Mr Trump. Some still spend less than the current 2 per cent target. Mr Trump has previously suggested he could quit the alliance because of the vast sums America pours into it compared to other countries. In February last year, before being elected President for a second time, he even suggested he would 'encourage' Russia to attack any Nato member that fails to pay its way. Mr Trump reacted angrily to Spain's stance yesterday, saying: 'They want to stay at 2 per cent. I think it's terrible. We're negotiating with Spain on a trade deal. We're going to make them pay twice as much.' Earlier yesterday, Mr Trump met with Mr Rutte on the sidelines of the two-day summit, where they discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran in front of the cameras. Mr Trump said: 'They've had a big fight, like two kids in the schoolyard, you know. 'They fight like hell. You can't stop them. Let them fight for about two or three minutes then it's easier to stop them.' Mr Rutte then joked: 'And then Daddy has to sometimes use strong language'. This was a reference to Mr Trump on Tuesday saying Israel and Iran 'don't know what the f*** they're doing' when asked about the two nations initially breaking a ceasefire brokered by the US President this week. However later, Mr Rutte tried to clarify his comments, saying Mr Trump's description of Iran and Israel as two children fighting 'sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, 'hey, are you still staying with the family?'.So, in that sense, I use 'Daddy,' not that I was calling President Trump Daddy,' he told Reuters. Mr Rutte, known as the 'Trump whisperer' due to his ability to sweet-talk the US premier, denied that his campaign of flattery was 'demeaning'. The Nato secretary-general told a post-summit conference: 'When it comes to making more investments [in defence], would that have been the result of this summit if he would have not been re-elected president?' It came after Mr Rutte also love-bombed the US President in a message which Mr Trump posted on social media. In the private message the Nato boss congratulated Mr Trump for his 'extraordinary' intervention in bombing Iran. 'You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening,' it continued, saying other member states had agreed to increase defence spending. It added: 'You will achieve something NO American President in decades could get done.'
