Nato chief to hold emergency talks in US after Donald Trump threatened to pull out of alliance

Alice Tomlinson
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:12:45 +0000

Nato’s chief is set to fly to the US next week to hold emergency talks after Donald Trump threatened to pull out of the military alliance.

Mark Rutte, Nato’s Secretary General, will visit Washington next week for what has been called a “long-planned visit” by a spokeswoman.

This comes after President Trump said he was “strongly considering” ditching Nato membership, after branding it as a “paper tiger”.

The President’s remarks have likely left Nato’s other 31 members scrambling, with Mr Rutte, who has been nicknamed the “Trump Whisperer”, heading over to the States to work his magic on the US’s Commander-in-Chief.

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Nato spokeswoman, Allison Hart said: “I can confirm that the Secretary General will be in ⁠DC next week for a long-planned visit.”

Mr Rutte and Mr Trump’s relationship has gained media attention after a WhatsApp message from the Nato chief to the US President was leaked in 2025.

He congratulated Mr Trump for his “extraordinary” intervention in bombing Iran in June last year.

In the text, which was verified as authentic by a White House official, Mr Rutte wrote: “Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world.

“You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done.

“Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.”

It is possible that Mr Rutte will use a similar form of flattery next week to win back the US President’s commitment to Nato.

Mr Trump, in an interview with the Telegraph published on Wednesday, said he was “never swayed by Nato”, giving his clearest signal yet that his commitment to the military alliance is seriously waning.

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His comments came after Nato members were reluctant to join the US in efforts to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic shipping lane which is currently blocked by Iran.

The waterway generally sees roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply pass through it.

However, since Operation Epic Fury was launched against Iran on February 28, commercial ships passing through the Strait have slowly reduced with fears of being attacked.

This has sent shockwaves through the global oil and gas markets, with chatter of this causing a worldwide recession as stockpiles start to deplete.

President Trump called upon Nato members on March 14 to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz in a big to secure the critical sea passage.

Writing on Truth Social, he specifically called out the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea, hoping that they "will send ships" to the Strait as they are "affected by this artificial constraint".

However, the nations have so far resisted the US President’s demands.

Keir Starmer has repeatedly said that the conflict in the Middle “is not our war” - just yesterday, he relayed this sentiment in a press conference.

Instead, the UK has offered deployment of mine-hunting drones, to detect and clear explosives that may have been placed by Iran in the shipping lane.

Other Nato countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain emphasised the need for de-escalation and diplomatic solutions, resisting pressure to deploy naval assets.

Consequently, Mr Trump branded Nato as “cowards” as he slammed the US’s “unwilling” allies for not joining the Iran war.

On March 20, the US President took to social media to launch his attack on the military alliance.

He wrote: "Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!

"They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran.

"Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices.

"So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!"

A U.S. withdrawal would represent a historic rupture in the international order.

Among one of the founding nations of the alliance in 1949, the United States has been a key partner, seeing it grow to 32-state-strong union.

The “Trump Whisperer”, aka Mr Rutte, will be arriving in Washington next week.