Rutte Arrives in Washington; Meets Rubio at State Dept Ahead of White House Meeting

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Washington on April 7-8 and met separately with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department ahead of his closed-door White House session with Trump. Rubio — who had recently stated the US would 're-examine the value of NATO' after the Iran war — received Rutte's pre-meeting briefing in a session described by officials as 'frank.' The Rutte-Rubio meeting at State was seen as preliminary groundwork for the more critical Trump encounter. Outlets including Notus described Rutte's Washington trip as an alliance 'rescue mission' — an attempt by the NATO Secretary General to convince Trump that the alliance still served US interests and head off any formal withdrawal announcement. Rutte's approach — described as 'deferential' and 'Trump whisperer' diplomacy — was under increasing scrutiny from European governments who believed a firmer stance was needed.