Mark Rutte still went to the White House to kiss Trump’s ring, agreeing with Trump that some NATO members had let the US down.
I’m torn on this one. Yes, it’s a bad look, particularly on the side of the Atlantic where words still have meaning. But Rutte isn’t stupid. He knows Europe still needs the Americans for a while until it’s finished scaling up its military capabilities, and Ukraine still needs their weapons and the Russia sanctions in place. So he might be playing the game of telling the demented grandpa “yes, you’re right”, just so he won’t throw a fit - and then wink to the other family members and do the right thing regardless.
Those of us in Eastern Europe long knew that Rutte was an odious piece of shit who blocked Schengen membership to Romania/Bulgaria for years to pander to the racists who elected him, so hopes that he’s suddenly turned into a good guy just pretending to lick Trump’s ring seem misplaced.
Pictures of pretty windmills and bike lanes do much to whitewash the fact that Dutch politics and politicians are as horrible as anywhere’s.
Not convincingly enough
It doesn’t help when the current leader of NATO, Mark Rutte, flies to the White House following a summons from Trump, kisses his ring and says that he agrees with Trump that some NATO members let down the USA.
