Nato chief Mark Rutte confronts Trump over his insults and points out

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte has delivered a reality check to Donald Trump, telling him that one NATO soldier died for every two Americans in Afghanistan after the US President doubted the Western alliance.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland yesterday, Trump said, ‘I’m not sure that they’d be there for us if we gave them the call’, as he tried to rally momentum for his now-abandoned plan to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

‘I know them all very well. I’m not sure that they’d be there. I know we’d be there for them. I don’t know that they would be there for us,’ the US President said.

The claims, however, overlook the fact that NATO member countries suffered hundreds of deaths during the Afghanistan war, triggered after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.

Britain alone lost 457 troops, with France, Germany, Italy and Denmark also suffering many deaths.

Rutte told Trump: ‘There’s one thing I heard you say yesterday and today. You were not absolutely sure Europeans would come to the rescue of the US if you will be attacked. Let me tell you, they will and they did in Afghanistan.’

The rebuttal came after Trump called Denmark – which had the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces in Afghanistan – ‘ungrateful’ for US protection during the Second World War.

‘For every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another NATO country who did not come back to his family – from the Netherlands, from Denmark and particularly from other countries,’ the NATO chief said.

EXCLUSIVE
Trump’s ‘ultimate deal’ for Greenland could offer $1m each to residents as he backs down on tariffs

‘So you can be assured, absolutely, if ever the United States was under attack, your allies will be with you. There is an absolute guarantee. I really want to tell you that because it pains me if you think it is not,’ Rutte told Trump.

In an astonishing climbdown following his meeting with Rutte, the US President declared that the two had agreed ‘the framework of a future deal’ on Greenland as well as ‘the entire Arctic Region’.

It means Trump has now abandoned his plan to take over the semi-autonomous territory, and dropped his threat to impose tariffs on the UK and seven other European nations for standing in his way.

This is not the first time the US President has publicly aired his grievances with NATO.

Earlier this month, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he doubted allies would ‘be there for us if we really needed them,’ writing: ‘We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us.’

During his extraordinary speech at the WEF, Trump elaborated on why he thinks America deserves to control Greenland, frequently turning back to the Second World War.

‘We saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere,’ Trump said.

‘After the war, which we won, we won it big. Without us, right now, you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps.’

He added: ‘After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. We gave it back, but how ungrateful are they now?’

He also declared that ‘Europe is not heading in the right direction’ due to unchecked ‘mass migration’.

He showered praise on the ‘booming’ US economy, claiming ‘inflation has been defeated’ and America’s previous ‘open and dangerous border’ has been closed.

Meanwhile, ‘certain places in Europe are not even recognisable’, he said.

‘We can argue about it, but there’s no argument. Friends come back from different places – I don’t want to insult anybody – and say, I don’t recognise it. And that’s not in a positive way, that’s in a very negative way.

‘And I love Europe and I want to see Europe do good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.’

The President said issues such as ‘energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united West’.

He continued: ‘They have to get out of the culture that they’ve created over the last ten years. It’s horrible what they’re doing to themselves.

‘They’re destroying themselves… We want strong allies, not seriously weakened ones.’

He reiterated his claim that NATO would not exist without him, saying: ‘We give so much, and we get so little in return.’

‘You wouldn’t have NATO if I didn’t get involved in my first term,’ he added.

‘Until I came along, NATO was only supposed to pay 2 per cent of GDP. The United States was paying virtually 100 per cent of NATO. I got NATO to pay 5 per cent. They weren’t paying, and now they are paying.’

He added that the US only gets ‘death, disruption, and massive amounts of cash [given] to people who don’t appreciate what we do’.

Trump blasted Denmark for insufficient military spending on Greenland, claiming that the country promised to spend ‘over $200 million to strengthen Greenland’s defenses’ and then insisted it has ‘spent less than 1 per cent of that’.

He was referring to a 2019 commitment from the Danish government, made during Trump’s first presidency, when he first floated the idea of the US taking control of the semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

Copenhagen has not disputed that the implementation of that commitment has been slow.

In recent weeks, with Trump pushing the US takeover again, Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen unveiled an expanded defense plan with a $2 billion budget that includes three new ships, long-range drones and more satellite capacity.

Trump did not mention that latest commitment.

Throughout the speech, French President Emmanuel Macron was on the receiving end of several jibes by the US President.

He was mocked for wearing aviator sunglasses during his speech at WEF on Tuesday, and for his ‘tough’ talk at the podium.

French officials said Macron, 48, had burst a blood vessel in his eye, which left him with an unsightly injury, hence the glasses.

‘I watched him yesterday with those beautiful sunglasses,’ Trump said. ‘What the hell happened?’

He later insisted he liked Macron, before adding: ‘Hard to believe, isn’t it?’

TOM LEONARD: So just how many of Donald Trump’s outlandish assertions on Greenland are true?

Just hours after the explosive speech, Europe breathed a collective sigh of relief when Trump announced a major U-turn.

After a ‘very productive’ meeting with Rutte, Trump dropped the threat of tariffs on European countries who opposed his plan to purchase Greenland, and announced a ‘framework of a future deal’ on Arctic security.

It was a dramatic reversal shortly after he insisted he wanted to get the island ‘including right, title and ownership’.

Trump said ‘additional discussions’ on Greenland were being held concerning the Golden Dome missile defense program, a multilayered, $175 billion system that for the first time will put US weapons in space.

Trump offered few details, saying they were still being worked out.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement that security in the Arctic is a matter for all of NATO, and it is ‘good and natural’ that it be discussed between the US President and NATO Secretary General Rutte.

She said that she had spoken with Rutte ‘on an ongoing basis,’ including before and after he met Trump in Davos.

She wrote that NATO is fully aware of Denmark’s position that anything political can be negotiated on, including security, investment and economic issues – ‘but we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty’.

‘I have been informed that this has not been the case,’ she said, adding that only Denmark and Greenland can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland.

Frederiksen said that Denmark wants to continue engaging in constructive dialogue with allies on how to strengthen security in the Arctic, including the US Golden Dome program, ‘provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity’.

Rutte said he had a ‘very good discussion’ with ‍Trump on ‍how NATO allies can work collectively to ensure Arctic security, including not just Greenland but the seven NATO nations with land in the Arctic.

Further talks would build ⁠on the Washington meeting last week between the United States and delegations from Denmark and Greenland.

He added that there was ‘still a lot of work to be done’ on Greenland, however.

Trump insists the mineral-rich Arctic island is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China.

‘One workstream ⁠coming out of yesterday … is to make sure when it comes to Greenland, particularly, that we ensure that the Chinese and the Russians will not gain ‍access to the Greenland ⁠economy (or) militarily to Greenland,’ Rutte told a panel at the WEF.

European shares rebounded on Thursday after Trump abandoned his tariff threats linked to Greenland and ruled out using force to seize the autonomous Danish territory.

The pan-European STOXX ⁠600 climbed 1 per cent by 8.02am, regaining some poise after a ‍revival of trade war jitters shaved 1.9 per cent off the benchmark index this week through Wednesday.

While details on the new ‘framework’ were scant, ⁠Trump’s comments were enough to lift the risk sentiment among investors who have been ⁠worried about a potential trade war.

Investors are also parsing a batch of financial updates from companies, looking for clues on profit outlook and ‍demand trends.

Shares of Volkswagen, ⁠Europe’s largest carmaker, climbed 4.3 per cent after the company reported better-than-expected net cash flow for 2025.

Trump will show off his new ‘Board of Peace’ at Davos on Thursday – burnishing his claim to be a peacemaker a day after backing off his own threats against Greenland.

He will host a signing ceremony for the founding charter of his body for resolving international conflicts, which has a $1 billion price tag for permanent membership.

That membership has however proved controversial, with the inclusion of leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine four years ago.

Trump said Putin had agreed to join, while the Russian leader said he was still studying the invite.

Other members include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, while Pope Leo XVI has also been sent an invitation.

‘This is the greatest board ever assembled,’ Trump, who is the chairman of the board, told reporters including AFP on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort.

‘Yeah, I have some controversial people on it but these are people who get the job done, these are people who have tremendous influence.’

Originally meant to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza after the war between Hamas and Israel, the board’s charter does not limit its role to the Strip, and has sparked concerns that Trump wants it to rival the United Nations.

‘It’s going to get a lot of work done that the United Nations should have done,’ added Trump.

Key US allies including France have expressed skepticism but others have signed up, particularly in the Middle East where Trump-friendly Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt have agreed to join.

About 35 world leaders have committed so far out of the 50 or so invitations that went out, a senior Trump administration official told reporters on Wednesday.

The launch of the board comes against the backdrop of Trump’s frustration at having failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his disputed claim to have ended eight conflicts.

Britain will not take part in Thursday’s signing ceremony in Davos, foreign minister Yvette Cooper said.

‘There’s a huge amount of work to do, we won’t be one of the signatories today,’ Cooper told the BBC from the Swiss mountain town, amid UK concerns about the inclusion of Putin.

‘Because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues, and we do also have concerns about President Putin being part of something which is talking about peace, when we have still not seen any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine,’ she added.

The inclusion of Putin has caused particular concern among US allies, but especially in Ukraine as it seeks an end to Moscow’s nearly four-year-old invasion.

Trump said he would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos after the ‘Board of Peace’ ceremony to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine – the major peace deal that continues to elude him.

His special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is due to travel to Moscow to meet Putin later Thursday, said in Davos that talks to end the war had made a ‘lot of progress’ and were down to one issue.

‘I think we’ve got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it’s solvable,’ said Witkoff, without saying what the issue was.

Witkoff added that he and the US leader’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would not stay in Moscow overnight but fly straight to Abu Dhabi for ‘military to military’ talks.

At Davos on Wednesday, Trump said Russia and Ukraine would be ‘stupid’ not to reach a peace deal in the conflict that he said he could solve within a day of taking office a year ago.

Trump repeated his oft-stated belief that Putin and Zelensky were close to a deal, although he has veered between blaming one or the other for the lack of a ceasefire so far.

Trump has long been a skeptic of US support for Ukraine and says that it is now up to NATO and Europe to back Kyiv. But his belief that he has a personal connection with Putin has not brought an end to the war so far.

Zelensky has meanwhile voiced fears that Trump’s push to seize Greenland could divert focus away from Russia’s invasion of his country.