NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte brushed aside European fears of former President Donald Trump roaring back into the White House.
Despite Trump’s frequent jabs against the 32-member bloc, Rutte, 57, contended that the 45th president understands the need to back Ukraine in its war of defense against Russia.
“Really, stop worrying about a Trump presidency. We do not know who will win,” the former Dutch prime minister, who became the NATO boss at the start of this month, told reporters outside 10 Downing Street Thursday.
“I will work with Kamala Harris if she is chosen, I will work with Donald Trump if he is chosen.”
Rutte’s remarks came during his visit to London where he huddled with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who presented his so-called plan for victory.
Zelensky, 46, met with Trump, 78, at Trump Tower in New York last month during their first face-to-face visit since 2019. Trump reiterated his desire to end the war, but was scant on specifics about how.
In front of cameras afterward while standing next to an uncomfortable-looking Zelensky, Trump said “I think that we can work out something that’s good for both sides.”
Last month, during his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump declined to state whether he wants Ukraine to win the war.
Since departing the White House, the GOP presidential nominee has had at least seven private calls with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to Watergate sleuth Bob Woodward.
His running mate, JD Vance, has floated a plan that would entail establishing demilitarized zones between the two countries and a commitment that Kyiv would not join NATO. This proposal elicited a rebuke from Zelensky.
“I know that he understands completely, and agrees with me that this fight in Ukraine is not only about Ukraine, it’s also about the safety and the future security of the United States. He knows this,” Rutte added to reporters, referring to Trump.
During his presidency, Trump stepped up aid for Ukraine as it stared down a civil war in the Donbas region exacerbated by Russia. He green-lit lethal military aid for Kyiv, going a step further than his predecessor Barack Obama in helping the beleaguered ally.
Harris has blasted Trump’s approach to Ukraine, describing it as a policy of “surrender.” She recently affirmed that she would not seek to negotiate an end to the war “bilaterally without Ukraine.”
Aside from his public boasting that he could end the bloody war within 24 hours of taking office, Trump has also decried NATO members who don’t comply with the alliance’s guidelines to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense.
In February, Trump rattled allies when he recounted during a rally a supposed conversation he had with an unnamed European leader who asked if the US would protect them from Russia.
“No, I would not protect you,” Trump recounted saying in response. “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”
Privately, he has reportedly floated various ideas to entice NATO members to pony up, including telling allies that the US won’t commit to defending them unless they’ve hit the 2 percent mark.
Rutte’s predecessor as NATO boss, Jens Stoltenberg, has grappled with similar consternation about Trump’s rhetoric.
He also credited him with helping to motivate NATO members to bolster their defense expenditures.
The newly minted NATO chief has been dubbed by some as a “Trump whisperer” due to his knack for swaying the former president.
