(DCWatchdog.com) – Some world leaders have concluded that the return of Donald Trump to the White House must happen, and recently one of these leaders made a clear statement about this.
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is considered a strong candidate to be the next NATO leader, recently made comments urging Western allies to focus less on the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the White House.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Rutte said, “We should stop moaning and whining and nagging about Trump,” according to Reuters. He emphasized, “It’s up to the Americans. I’m not an American, I cannot vote in the U.S. We have to work with whoever is on the dance floor.”
Trump has sparked discussions with his remarks on NATO, particularly at an event in South Carolina where he shared his approach to encouraging NATO allies to increase their defense spending. He described a hypothetical conversation: “One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’ I said, you didn’t pay? You’re delinquent? He said, ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay.”
These comments led to speculation about Trump’s commitment to NATO’s Article 5, which obligates member states to defend each other. Trump clarified his stance is about making NATO allies “equalize” their financial contributions to the alliance.
Rutte, in an interview with Deutsche Welle, reiterated his message: “Let’s stop moaning and nagging and whining about Trump.”
He pointed out that the 2024 U.S. election hasn’t occurred yet and that there are more immediate concerns. “We need to invest in our defense expenditure. We need to massively ramp up arms production, and we need to massively do more in support to Ukraine,” Rutte stated.
He further stressed the importance of NATO’s readiness, “This has nothing to do with Trump,” and concluded that allies should “be making sure that our defense is at maximum capacity.”
