Former Dutch politician Rutte channelling the Little Dutch Boy in his latest role
Over recent months Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, has certainly made his bed and will definitely have to lie in it. Most people now see him as Trump's arse-kisser-in-chief, which is not exactly a great legacy to leave.
At the recent NATO conference he was even asked by a Danish journalist:
"Mark, you sit next to Donald Trump in moments when he talks about conquering Greenland, when he talks about lashing out at allies like Spain, starting trade wars, things that the old Mark Rutte wouldn't have approved of. Does this have any effect on your self respect when you sit next to him like that and say nothing?"
Ouch!
Rutte, of course, ignored the insult, and rambled on about other things that are not even in the same post-code as "self respect," claiming that Trump was having a "positive impact" on NATO.
Is this actually the case? Let's look at the stats.
Rutte, of course, ignored the insult, and rambled on about other things that are not even in the same post-code as "self respect," claiming that Trump was having a "positive impact" on NATO.
Is this actually the case? Let's look at the stats.
I am not going to get dragged into debates here about Purchasing Power Parity or the fact that much of US military spending is obviously pork barrel to keep certain senators and congressmen happy, but will just stick to dollar values to keep it simple.
If we go back to 2021, the entire global military budget was $2,113 billion, of which 37.9% ($801 billion) was spent by the US, while the rest of NATO accounted for 17.1% ($361 billion).
In 2022, with Biden supposedly in charge and Russia now invading the Ukraine, the US share of global military spending had climbed to 39.2% ($877 billion) while the rest of NATO fell to 15.8% ($355 billion).
2023 saw some improvement: USA $916 billion (37.5%) vs. Other NATO $425 billion (17.4%).
It was the same story in 2024, the last year of the Biden administration: USA $997 billion (36.7%) vs. Other NATO $425 billion (17.4%).
Now, let's consider 2025, the first year of Trump's second administration. What we see here is the same pattern as before but somewhat accelerated: USA $954 billion (33.0%) vs. Other NATO $627 billion (21.7%).
So what is the takeaway from all this? What we see here is that even before Rutte became a Trump suppository and started calling the Orange Baboon "Daddy" while laughing off his unhinged threats as cute little jokes, things were already moving in a Rutteian direction.
But how much did this have to do with Trump, Biden, or Rutte? Not very much, in my view. The real reason Europeans want to spend more on their militaries is simply because of the continuing war in the Ukraine and the perception, which was even there under Biden, that the USA is not someone you can rely to step up as an ally.
But how much did this have to do with Trump, Biden, or Rutte? Not very much, in my view. The real reason Europeans want to spend more on their militaries is simply because of the continuing war in the Ukraine and the perception, which was even there under Biden, that the USA is not someone you can rely to step up as an ally.
Even though Trump has turbocharged that perception, the rest of Europe has only gone from 17.1% to 21.7% of the global military budget. This is not really that much when you think about it, even though it might look like too much if Russia suddenly collapses.
So, overall, it looks like Rutte is largely an irrelevance. Almost anybody else in that position would be having a similar impact, although, unlike Rutte, they would probably be able to pull it off with a lot more self respect.
So, overall, it looks like Rutte is largely an irrelevance. Almost anybody else in that position would be having a similar impact, although, unlike Rutte, they would probably be able to pull it off with a lot more self respect.
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