Prima facie, the relationship between President Donald Trump and NATO is delicate. The role of Secretary General of the organization is anything but a sinecure. Yet the relationship between the resident of Avenue Louise in Brussels and the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington stands out for its closeness. In Le Figaro, the astute journalist Florentin Collomp even wrote that Mark Rutte “is probably the only European capable of influencing the will of the President of the United States.” And as Collomp notes, it was following a meeting with NATO’s Secretary General at the Davos Forum that Donald Trump announced his dramatic reversals on Greenland and tariffs. Personal relationships are clearly crucial in international relations—especially with the US President. We could even say any US President.
This may come as a surprise to some, yet the closeness between the American statesman and the captain of the NATO ship fits within a clear continuum. In his memoirs, Jens Stoltenberg—former Norwegian Labour Prime Minister and current Finance Minister—describes a relationship that, exhausting as it may have been, proved beneficial. Stoltenberg, who accepted the post at Barack Obama’s invitation and had his term renewed under both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, candidly admits in his memoir, On My Watch: Leading NATO in a Time of War (Norton) to having adopted a strongly critical stance toward the United States in his youth. He also confesses to underestimating the chances of victory of the real estate mogul. Jens Stoltenberg is certainly no MAGA sympathizer—but his assessment is unambiguous: “When Donald Trump’s first term as President came to an end, NATO was stronger than it had been when he took office.” Intriguing, isn’t it?
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