Watch : Donald Trump Reacts to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Calling Him “Daddy”

Donald Trump just picked up a new nickname.

After the president announced Iran and Israel agreed to a complete and total ceasefire, he doubled down on his belief that the countries “don’t know what the f–k they’re doing.”

“They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard,” Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during the NATO summit June 25 in The Hague, Netherlands. “You know, they fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about 2, 3 minutes, then it’s easy to stop them.”

In response, Rutte showed the president his full support with a nickname.

“Daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” the NATO official quipped, pumping his fist in the air before later adding, “When it comes to Iran, the fact that he took this decisive action, very targeted, to make sure that Iran would not be able to get his hands on a nuclear capability—I think he deserves all the praise.”

NATO’s secretary general has called US President Donald Trump “daddy” as the military alliance met against the backdrop of war in Europe and the Middle East.

The leaders of NATO were gathered in The Hague when the president compared the fighting between Iran and Israel to children squabbling at school.

“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 2-3 minutes, then it’s easy to stop them,” he said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte added, laughing, that “daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get [them to] stop.”

On Tuesday, after helping broker a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, who had been trading missile barrages, Trump said the two countries had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing”.

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The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including Iran strikes report, stranded travellers land safely, rough weather coming, Bezos’ wedding under fire, Kiwi basketballer joins LA Lakers. (Source: 1News)

When asked if his use of “daddy” made him appear weak in front of Trump, Rutte said: “So doesn’t he deserve some praise?”

“And when it comes to Iran, the fact that he took this decisive action, very targeted, to make sure that Iran would not be able to get his hands on a nuclear capability – I think he deserves all the praise.”

Asked if he was pouring too much flattery on the President, Rutte said: “No, I don’t think so. I think it’s a bit of a question of taste.”

“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,” he later clarified to Reuters.

Trump shifts his tone on NATO

NATO leaders take part in the official family photo during the NATO Summit in The Hague. (Source: Associated Press)

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After less than 24 hours on the ground in the Netherlands, Trump headed back to Washington, having secured a major policy change he’s pushed for since 2017: A significant boost in defence spending by other NATO countries whom the president has for years accused of freeloading off the United States.

The focus on Ukraine was scaled back dramatically, with its invasion by Russia earning only a passing mention in the summit’s official statement, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s profile at the gathering diminished.

Trump also sent NATO scattering for reassurances that the US would remain committed to the alliance’s mutual defence pledge, affirming on Thursday that he would abide by Article 5 of the NATO treaty just a day after he rattled the 32-nation alliance by being equivocal about the pact.

“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said when asked to clarify his stance on Article 5. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”

President Donald Trump points as he speaks during a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague (Source: Associated Press)

At a news conference, Trump sounded reflective as he described feeling inspired by other NATO countries that were motivated to provide for their own defence by bolstering their own spending.

“They want to protect their country, and they need the United States, and without the United States, it’s not going to be the same,” Trump said, later adding: “I left here differently. I left here saying, ‘These people really love their countries. It’s not a rip-off. And we are here to help them protect their country’.”

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He mused just a day earlier that whether he abided by the treaty “depends on your definition” of Article 5.

The mutual praise in The Hague stood in stark contrast to Trump’s previous harsh words for the alliance, whose value he had long questioned.

— additional reporting from Associated Press

President Donald Trump has vowed the American public will hear ‘irrefutable’ facts about the success of the Iranian strikes as he mounts a defense of ‘great American pilots’ who carried out the mission.

The administration has rubbished reports by both CNN and the New York Times that the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities from Saturday night’s bombing was not as severe as they had hoped, while simultaneously demanding the person who leaked incomplete intel be jailed.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday afternoon, Trump revealed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would address the public at 8am Thursday morning to provide ‘both interesting and irrefutable’ proof about the success of the mission.

Trump said the purpose of the conference is to ‘fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots.

‘These Patriots were very upset,’ he said. ‘After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times.

‘They felt terribly!’

Trump reminded them that the doubts about the success of the mission were ‘as usual, solely for the purpose of demeaning PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.’

His comments come after the CIA confirmed Iran’s nuclear facilities suffered ‘severe damage’ after the devastating airstrikes Saturday night.

Trump had earlier suggested Hegseth’s title should be changed to the ‘Secretary of War’ given the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, and kicked off meetings at the NATO summit on Wednesday by comparing Saturday’s precision airstrikes to the two atomic bombings on Japan that ended World War II.

‘I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki. But that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war,’ he told reporters at The Hague.

The White House has celebrated President Donald Trump’s return from the NATO summit with a provocative music video to Usher’s hit ‘Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).’

The montage video came hours after NATO chief Mark Rutte was forced to publicly backtrack on an embarrassing blunder in which he appeared to refer to Trump as ‘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.

Rutte said on Wednesday that ‘Daddy has to use strong language’ to get Israel and Iran to sort things out, to which Trump agreed.

The NATO chief’s comments raised eyebrows across the world, and the new White House video implies the president is in on the joke.

In the video, Trump steps off the plane to crowds lining the streets to catch a glimpse of him as the lyrics ‘Daddy’s home, home for me / And I know you’ve been waiting for this loving all day / You know your daddy’s home and it’s time to play.’

The music video features snippets of Trump’s meetings at NATO, including with Rutte. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also features in the video.

In another section, as Trump is formally introducing himself to officials and working the crowd, Usher sings ‘Hey, hey, hey Daddy.’

The White House has celebrated President Donald Trump ‘s return from the NATO summit with a provocative music video to Usher’s hit ‘Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).’

The montage video came just hours after NATO chief Mark Rutte was forced to publicly backtrack on an embarrassing blunder in which he appeared to refer to Trump as ‘daddy’

The video attracted a mixed response from social media users, some praising the creativity of the White House social media team while others asked: ‘Who does this appeal to?’

‘We are not a serious people,’ one critic said, while another added ‘not sure this is what Usher had in mind.’

MAGA fans who had earlier seen the ‘daddy’ interaction with Rutte felt like they were ‘in on the joke’ and praised the White House for the good natured humor.

‘Love him or hate him, when Trump shows up, the whole room shifts. You can feel the energy, like it or not, Daddy did walk back in,’ one supporter wrote.

Another added: ‘They said No Kings not No Daddy.’

Former prime minister of the Netherlands Rutte was forced to backtrack on his comments later in the day as they gained global notoriety.

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.’

In the video, Trump steps off the plane to crowds lining the streets to catch a glimpse of him as the lyrics ‘Daddy’s home, home for me / And I know you’ve been waiting for this loving all day / You know your daddy’s home and it’s time to play / So you ain’t got to give my loving away’

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

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.

‘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.

Trump had earlier 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.

The music video features snippets of Trump’s meetings at NATO, including with Rutte

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

After less than 24 hours on the ground in the Netherlands, Trump headed back to Washington having secured a major policy change he’s pushed for since 2017: a significant boost in defense spending by other NATO countries.

At a news conference later Wednesday, Trump described feeling inspired by other NATO countries that were motivated to provide for their own defense by bolstering their own spending.

‘They want to protect their country, and they need the United States, and without the United States, it’s not going to be the same,’ Trump said.

‘I left here differently. I left here saying, ”These people really love their countries. It’s not a rip-off.” And we are here to help them protect their country.’

But Trump was furious during the summit following reporting by both CNN and the New York Times that the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities from Saturday night’s bombing was not as severe as they had hoped.

He has issued several rebukes of the reporting, taking aim at ‘fake news’ for trying to discredit the operation while simultaneously demanding the person who leaked incomplete intel be jailed.

He shared a Truth Social post on Wednesday revealing Pete Hegseth, who he described as the ‘Secretary of Defense (War!)’ will deliver a major update to the American people on Thursday morning about the success of the operation.

The conference will be to ‘fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots,’ he wrote.

‘These Patriots were very upset! After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY.

‘Then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times.’

Trump said ‘they felt terribly’ about what they were reading, but were assured the stories were ‘solely for the purpose of demeaning PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.

‘The Fake News (Times and CNN) lied and totally misrepresented the Facts, none of which they had (because it was too soon, there were no Facts out there yet!).

‘The News Conference will prove both interesting and irrefutable,’ he vowed.

London: There is no mistaking the success of US President Donald Trump over the past six days in getting his way with allies and enemies.

Trump ordered a powerful demonstration of American military might against Iran, called out Israel and Iran over their continuing war and extracted a big pledge from European leaders on defence spending.

Flattery will get you everywhere: President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the plenary session. Credit: AP

Trump even drew gushing praise from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who likened the president to a father who needed to deliver a tough message.

“Sometimes daddy needs to use strong language,” Rutte quipped when asked about Trump’s declaration that Israel and Iran did not know “what the f— they’re doing” when they breached a supposed ceasefire.

That quip came one day after Trump leaked a private message from Rutte that heaped praise on the president for his strike against Iran and his hard talk with Europe about defence.

Read more on this analysis from Europe correspondent David Crowe here.