In a peak-Trump theatrics moment, the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague just got weird when it was announced that Donald Trump would be officially serving as the world’s “daddy” through no less than NATO itself, the childlike brainchild of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
In a conversation about the circumstances surrounding the high-stakes stand-off between Israel and Iran, Rutte, undoubtedly hoping to lighten the mood or, at this point, survive another press cycle dominated by Trump, made a joke that set the world on fire: “Daddy sometimes has to use strong language to get them to stop,” he said, referencing Trump’s previous swear-laden metaphor likening the two Middle Eastern countries to misbehaving children.
“I think he likes me. I love this guy and I think he loves me,” Trump beamed, his characteristic confidence cranked to eleven. “But if he doesn’t, you’ll hear from me. I will come back, and I will punch him back. Okay? ‘Daddy, you’re my daddy.’ ”
Cue Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted and failed to stifle his laughter behind him. Cue half the room laughing and the other half questioning which parallel universe they’ve entered or just stalked.
Of course, Rutte later clarified he wasn’t calling Trump “daddy,” or we’d all have to endure the world photoshopping them into matching NATO bibs and sippy cups. The issue, he said, was that many European nations still relied on the United States for leadership, even if that leadership came laced with some Profanity and a side of showmanship.
Still, not everyone was feeling the daddy vibes. Multiple European diplomats, speaking off the record, rolled their eyes so hard they could have powered a small wind farm. One diplomat even described the moment as “over the top” and “submissive,” hardly the power dynamic NATO typically aims to convey.
After all, the summit was supposed to be serious and aimed at winding down the ever more dangerous contest between Israel and Iran. But after Trump let fly the F-word and Rutte let fly the D-word, the conversation quickly moved from geopolitics to meme fodder.
Whether you love him or loathe him, no silver-haired septuagenarian can capture a headline like Trump. True to form for Mr. Trump, he has transformed what could have been a summit meeting full of dry diplomacy into a late-night punch line and, quite possibly, inadvertently, a metaphor for the current state of international relations.
What the world will be like with “Daddy Trump” at the head of the table is one in the eye for fortune-tellers. The 2025 NATO summit will not be long remembered for any great leap forward in policy or for any collective strategy or plan. Still, it will be remembered for a Dutch politician firing a thousand jokes into the internet by mistake and a grinning Trump enjoying his most bizarre honor yet.
0 Comments