NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said during the World Economic Forum’s summit that Europe should be “happy” that President Trump is leading the United States, defending the president’s policies.
“I’m not popular with you now because I’m defending Donald Trump, but I really believe you can be happy that he is there because he has forced us in Europe to step up, to face the consequences that we have to take care of more of our own defense,” Rutte said at a panel discussion titled “Can Europe defend itself?” as reported by Politico.
Without Trump, Rutte explained, “this would never have happened. They’re all on two percent now,” referring to nations agreeing to spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. “I’m absolutely convinced without Donald Trump you would not have taken those decisions and they are crucial, particularly for the European and the Canadian side of NATO to really grow up in the post-Cold War world.”
“The Americans still have over 80,000 soldiers in Europe … including in Poland and Germany and so they are still heavily invested in European defense. And yes, they have to pivot more towards Asia. So it is only logical for them to expect us, Europe, to step up over time,” the NATO leader explained.
Rutte also stated that President Trump is “right” to warn of threats posed by China and Russia.
“There are eight countries bordering on the Arctic. Seven are members of NATO. That’s Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, and the U.S.,” he said. “And there’s only one country bordering on the Arctic outside NATO, and that’s Russia. And I would argue there is a ninth country, which is China, which is increasingly active in the Arctic region. So, President Trump and other leaders are right, we have to do more there, we have to protect the Arctic.”
