U.S. President Donald Trump digs in his ear while at a roundtable discussion on the day he announced an aid package for farmers, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Both sides of the political aisle appear to be laughing at President Donald Trump's brag in an interview that NATO "calls me Daddy. I mean, look, I have a lot to say about it."
Trump was speaking with Politico in a long-ranging interview, which involved the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war. The story comes from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, joked that Ukraine and Russia are like children and "Daddy has to sometimes use strong language" to stop the war.
Later that day, Trump bragged, “I think he likes me. ‘Daddy, you’re my daddy,’” he said with a grin, drawing laughter from the press. “He did it very affectionately.”
Trump's own "war room" account found the comments hysterical, using laughing/crying emojis in a post of the video.
A pro-Trump influencer followed with even more laughing/crying emojis.
Ukrainian author Yaroslav Trofimov commented on X, "Rutte-led flattery of 'daddy' produced just disdain and conviction by Trump that Europe is weak and can be bullied. As shown by the showdown with China, Trump only respects strength. The only way Europe can show strength is by getting its act together quickly to seize Russian assets, thus derailing plans to hand over Ukraine to the Kremlin. It's pretty simple, really. The alternative is an end to the EU. Will the survival instinct kick in?"
"Pathetic," said activist Tom Wellborn wrote on BlueSky. "Trump brags that NATO calls him 'Daddy' while spewing racist garbage about European cities being destroyed by immigration. This isn't leadership; it's a dangerous, unhinged ego humiliating our allies and fueling global division."
A Bitcoin trader quipped, "No, Donald Trump. That's what you call Putin. Because he is your daddy."
One individual remarked it was "icky" that Trump would bring something up like that.
Another commented that they might be calling Trump something else behind his back.
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