Bloomberg: 'As Trump Bullies NATO, Europeans Question Its Deferential Chief'

Bloomberg published a major analytical piece on April 8 reporting that European governments were growing increasingly uneasy with NATO Secretary General Rutte precisely because of his deferential approach toward Trump. The piece documented how Rutte — known as the 'Trump whisperer' — had publicly supported Trump's aggressive moves, including the Iran strikes, even when European leaders strongly disagreed. European governments felt Rutte's approach of publicly validating Trump's complaints ('I can see his point') undermined allied solidarity rather than protecting NATO's cohesion. The piece noted the alliance faced the risk of Rutte being seen as a US proxy rather than a honest broker of European interests. Former US ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder told Europe Today that Trump's threats had triggered 'the worst crisis' the alliance had ever experienced, stating: 'The last six weeks have been extraordinarily damaging to NATO. We see a divided NATO, which has been the goal of first the Soviet Union and then Russia for the better part of 80 years.'