What Trump’s Blowup With Rutte Was Really About

President Donald Trump couldn’t get over European allies’ refusal to allow the U.S. access to military bases for the Iran war. And he made that clear to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday in an hourslong, closed-door rant that focused on little else.

Trump made no specific demands, nor did he indicate the U.S. would reduce its commitments to the alliance due to base decisions, according to three people familiar with the meeting. But the president harped on the issue, according to one of the people, because he felt betrayed by allies who barred U.S. operations from military bases that exist — in his view — due to American largesse.

The refusal by allies such as Spain and France to allow U.S. warplanes to use their airspace struck at the heart of Trump’s longstanding grievance with the alliance. And it validated his view of Europeans as ungrateful freeloaders who have relied on America’s security backstop but offered nothing in return.

“We’re not asking them to conduct airstrikes,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week on Fox News. “When we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is no? Then why are we in NATO?”

This has left the former Dutch prime minister — who is focused on preserving the future of the alliance and ensuring support for Ukraine — with little option but to absorb the president’s anger and partly legitimize his grievances.

“Allies are doing everything the United States is asking,” Rutte said Thursday during a speech in Washington, where he diplomatically acknowledged the “frank” meeting with Trump and noted he “was disappointed” by the lack of military assistance from European allies. But he insisted that members were now offering essential support.

Rutte’s visit might actually have been well-timed. The president’s social media posts following the meeting, while vitriolic, did not include any specific threats of actions to punish NATO or individual members.

"That's a climbdown compared to other comments of his," one of the people familiar said. "It's still a volatile time, but it's fortunate for the alliance that he was there at this particular moment."

The person, like others interviewed, was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

“As President Trump said yesterday, NATO was tested, and they failed,” the White House said in a statement. “He has zero expectations for NATO at this point and did not ask them for anything, even though it’s a fact they benefit from the Strait of Hormuz far more than the United States.”

Europe has shown some allied support. France has allowed planes to refuel even if it doesn’t permit them to take off for offensive operations. American warships have docked in Greece and Spain, and U.S. aircraft have flown from British and Italian bases over the course of the five- week war.

One of the problems, according to a NATO diplomat and one of the people familiar with the meeting, is the lack of direction from the U.S. over what, exactly, was needed and when. Rutte on Thursday nodded at that confusion.

“When it came time to provide the logistical and [other] support the United States needed in Iran, some allies were a bit slow, to say the least,” he said. “In fairness, they were also a bit surprised” about the strikes.

In Rutte’s view, according to the person, maintaining the organization’s ability to assist Kyiv and protect the alliance hinges on his ability to appease this unpredictable, often emotional American president.

“The focus is on what’s best for Ukraine,” said the person. “If Mark is going there and giving the president the chance to vent releases some of the pressure, and if that means the U.S. continues to sell [NATO] weapons for Ukraine and continues to share intelligence [with Ukraine], then he’s making the right decisions. Embarrassing as the public flatter[ing of Trump] may be, it’s a small price to pay.”

Rutte has continued to assert that NATO members are spending more on defense and lessening the disproportional financial burden the U.S. has long accepted in the interest of transatlantic security.

But European leaders also are indicating that they are ready to stand without the U.S.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has begun to distance herself from Trump, said Thursday it was “undeniable” that European ties with the U.S. were “experiencing a period of particular difficulty.”

She said it was incumbent on Europe to build military forces “that do not leave us dependent on our American allies.”

Even so, Europe can do little in the short term to reduce its reliance on the U.S.

“NATO means ‘Needs Americans to Operate,’” said a U.S. defense official. “Should we leave because of that? Definitely not. But Trump is not wrong to be frustrated.”

And European countries are still unsure what the administration wants from them on the war, despite Rutte’s insistence on Thursday that allies are “scrambling” to help. The U.S. has not brought requests for allies to assist in the U.S. campaign in Iran or patrol the Strait of Hormuz to NATO’s North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s top decisionmaking body.

“This has nothing to do with NATO,” said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a member of Lithuanian parliament and former NATO official. “President Trump’s frustration should be directed at specific requests to specific countries.”