The portents were not good. Before departing for the recent NATO summit in Ankara, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to berate the alliance. He posted figures suggesting the alliance was a financial burden on the United States. He complained about allies neither contributing their fair shares nor standing with America. And he deemed it ridiculous for the U.S. to continue along this “one-sided” path.

Things didn’t improve when Trump touched down. During his first press conference at the summit, he singled out the big European allies—France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom—for their lack of support over Iran. He reprised the demand that the Danish territory of Greenland be ceded to American control, and bashed the allies for insufficient defense spending. Trump suggested the allies were lucky to have him, claiming he only showed up as a favor to his “friend,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Yet a day later, the mood had changed. Trump departed Ankara praising “the love” among the allies. He was seduced by a carefully orchestrated procession of prime ministers and presidents of member countries of the alliance, each in turn swallowing hard and praising his leadership. They were following a script already played to great effect by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has helped NATO survive Trump by perfecting the art of flattering the American president.

“Teflon Mark” and the art of the deal

When Rutte was appointed by the allies, he was not the obvious choice. As Dutch prime minister, he had led a country with a poor record of defense spending. There was also a strong argument at the time that NATO ought to select its first female Secretary General, or its first from an Eastern European ally.

But Rutte’s skill as a consensus-builder elevated his standing. Rutte had led Dutch coalition governments for nearly 14 years, and his reputation for deal-making and political survival had earned him the nickname, “Teflon Mark.” Crucially, for these reasons, Rutte also enjoyed the support of the Biden White House.

Rutte began work at NATO in Oct. 2024. Trump........

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