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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said he sent President Donald Trump a short message after the Republican Party's defeat in this week's midterm elections, telling him: "Keep your chin up, and let's keep going."
Rutte, appearing on a Dutch talk show on Thursday night, strongly restated the essential role of the United States in defending Europe, arguing that America remains indispensable to the continent's security and to continued support for Ukraine. He said the U.S. military is stronger than the other 31 NATO allies combined.
"NATO is a platform for the Americans to show their power, which is greatly in our interest because we, as Europe, are not able to do so ourselves yet," Rutte said, according to Bloomberg.
Rutte said he has "enormous admiration" for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom he said he confers weekly, and added that it was important for Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a "good relationship." Shortly before the programme began, Trump told reporters he had met a Russian presidential envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, at the White House, but not a Ukrainian delegation.
Rutte also addressed his "Daddy" remark from last year's NATO summit, telling the programme's host that it was "an enormous mistake."
According to Bloomberg, American voters' discontent over the Iran war and the sharp rise in fuel prices it generated was a major factor in the Republicans losing both houses of Congress in the midterms.
While supporters see American leadership as vital to NATO's security, critics argue Europe should reduce its dependence on Washington and build stronger independent defence capabilities — a debate the midterm result has sharpened.