Trump hits out at NATO after meeting alliance chief

9 April 2026, 01:41 | Updated: 9 April 2026, 03:16

Donald Trump has repeated his criticism of NATO after holding talks with the alliance's secretary general in Washington.

Mark Rutte travelled to the White House hoping to calm the US president's annoyance with fellow members for not supporting his war on Iran.

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The conflict has strained relations between Mr Trump and the likes of Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who have been critical of his strategy and refused to join in with military strikes.

Mr Rutte told CNN he'd had a "frank and open discussion" with the president about his concerns and defended European leaders – including Sir Keir, who he said had taken "positive" action to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

But following their meeting on Wednesday night, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social age: "NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN."

That came just hours after the White House accused the UK and other NATO allies of having "turned their backs" on America during the Iran war.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed: "It's quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks, when it's the American people who have been funding their defence."

Mr Trump has enjoyed a warm relationship with Mr Rutte, who infamously described the president as "daddy" at a summit last year, but has been increasingly hostile towards NATO.

This year has seen him ramp up threats to seize Greenland, claim NATO members avoided the frontline in Afghanistan, and threaten to leave the alliance.

He spent much of last year pushing allies to ramp up defence spending, claiming they had relied on American support for too long.

Rutte: Allies 'have been helpful'

Mr Rutte told CNN after his latest meeting with the president that "the large majority" of alliance members have been helpful when it comes to Iran.

"Let me be absolutely clear; he is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point," he said.

"But at the same time, I was also able to point him to the fact that the large majority of European nations have been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, and with making sure that they lived up to (their) commitments."

He highlighted the efforts of Sir Keir, who is in the Middle East for talks with Gulf allies about the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed by Iran during the war – sending shockwaves through the global economy.

Mr Trump listened "carefully" to his arguments, Mr Rutte insisted.

(c) Sky News 2026: Trump hits out at NATO after meeting alliance chief