NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday praised U.S. President Donald Trump for his “decisive action” against Iran and pushing allies to boost defence spending in a text message that Trump made public and NATO confirmed was legitimate.
Trump posted screenshots of the lengthy text message to his Truth Social website as he headed to Brussels for the two-day NATO summit at The Hague, with the conflict in the Middle East expected to loom over the talks.
The message appeared to have been sent by Rutte on Signal.
A NATO spokesperson confirmed to Global News that the screenshots were of “a message the Secretary General sent to President Trump earlier today.”
“Mr. President, dear Donald,” the text begins. “Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer. You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 percent!
“Donald,” it continues, “you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world. You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done. Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win. Safe travels and see you at His Majesty’s dinner!”
Rutte appeared unconcerned that Trump publicized his message.
“I have absolutely no trouble or problem with that because there’s nothing in it which had to stay secret,” Rutte told reporters.
Trump was struggling to hold together a ceasefire he helped broker between Iran and Israel as he left Washington Tuesday, just days after he ordered the U.S. military to bomb multiple Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend.
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Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold back from striking Iran further, and that “the ceasefire is very much in effect, and I think we’re going to keep it there for a long time.”
Rutte on Monday declined to comment on the Iranian conflict, telling reporters it was outside NATO’s territory and the topics set for the summit, though he did say allies agree Iran must never have a nuclear weapon.
NATO leaders are expected to commit to a new defence spending target at the summit, an increase from the alliance’s previous target of two per cent of GDP.
Under the new plan, countries would spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on “core defense” — such as weapons and troops — and a further 1.5 per cent on security-related investments, such as adapting roads, ports and bridges for use by military vehicles, protecting pipelines and deterring cyberattacks.
That increase, to be phased in over 10 years, would mean hundreds of billions of dollars more spending on defence.
Trump has been credited for spurring the increase by criticizing NATO allies that haven’t met the target since it was agreed to in 2014 — including Canada — and threatening to not come to those members’ aid in the event of an attack.
Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday if he’s still supportive of NATO’s Article 5 commitment to collective self-defence, Trump responded, “Depends on your definition.”
“There’s numerous definitions of Article 5 — you know that, right?” he said. “I’m committed to being their friends. I’ve become friends with many of those leaders, and I’m committed to helping them.”
Asked to clarify his position, Trump said: “I’m committed to saving lives, I’m committed to life and safety, and I’m going to give you an exact definition when I get there. I just don’t want to do it on the back of an airplane.”
Trump has said he wants all allies to spend five per cent of GDP on defence — a level no member, including the United States, currently meets. He would not commit to raising U.S. defence spending when asked Tuesday, only saying that having European members do so will make the alliance stronger.
“He wants his allies to spend more so he can take his assets and put them somewhere else,” Christian Leuprecht, a senior fellow on defence and security at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, told Global News in an interview Monday.
“It’s amazing that basically we’re more than doubling defence expenditures and nobody’s even blinking an eye.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will attend the summit just over a week after hosting Trump and other leaders at the G7 summit in Alberta, has said Canada will reach two per cent by the end of this fiscal year, with over $9 billion in new defence investments.
Rutte’s text message is not the first Trump has publicly posted to show leaders and allies praising him.
Earlier this month, he posted screenshots of a lengthy text from his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, that in part called him “the most consequential President in a century—maybe ever” and suggested God was speaking through Trump.
The White House later released the text on its official social media channels.
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