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Donald Trump lashed out at NATO this Wednesday in a message posted on his social media platform Truth Social, claiming that the alliance was absent when the United States needed it and warning that it will not be there in the future either.
"NATO wasn’t there when we needed it, and it won’t be there if we need it again. Remember Greenland, that big and poorly managed piece of ice!" Trump wrote in uppercase, in a tone that reflects the president's deep frustration with his European allies.
The message arrived a day after Trump met for over two and a half hours with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House.
Rutte acknowledged in an interview that Trump was clearly disappointed with the alliance, although he also noted that the president "listened attentively" to his arguments about the situation in Europe.
Before the meeting with Trump, Rutte met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and their discussions focused on military operations against Iran, the war in Ukraine, and the distribution of burdens among allies.
The White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, had previewed the tone of the meeting with a direct quote from the president: They were tested and failed.
Leavitt added that "it is rather unfortunate that NATO has turned its back on the American people over the past six weeks, when it is precisely the American people who have been funding its defense."
The crisis between Trump and the alliance originates from the Epic Fury Operation, launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel against Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure without prior consultation with European allies.
Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil flows, causing the price of Brent crude to surge above 110 dollars per barrel.
Trump demanded that his allies participate militarily in the reopening of the strait, but 22 NATO countries merely signed a diplomatic declaration without committing naval forces.
The president's rhetorical escalation against the alliance has been sustained in recent weeks: on March 20 he called the member countries cowards on Truth Social and stated that "without the U.S., NATO is a paper tiger"; on April 1, he reiterated this statement in an interview with The Telegraph, mentioning that he did not rule out withdrawing his country from the organization.
The mention of Greenland in Thursday's message also reignites the territorial dispute that Trump has with Denmark since January 2026, when he demanded the cession of the island and threatened tariffs against several countries in the alliance.
The meeting on Wednesday coincided with the first day of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while talks between Washington and Tehran are planned in Pakistan on April 12.
Rutte is scheduled to give a speech this Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, and between Friday and Sunday, he will attend the annual meeting of the Bilderberg Group, which brings together political and business leaders from Europe and North America.
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