Expert finds it 'increasingly ridiculous' to see world leaders flatter Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Compound in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/

One of the recent dust-ups at the NATO summit this week centered around NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Wednesday when a Dutch reporter asked how he maintains any self-respect while placating President Donald Trump.

Foreign policy writer Elizabeth Saunders spoke with The New Republic's Greg Sargent about the encounter and the tendency of world leaders to shower Trump with flattery to defuse potential tensions.

"I mean, again, I think the era of flattery is over. I think Rutte probably knows that. But in his defense, he is the one in charge of just NATO, not a country anymore," said Saunders. "And so he may feel that there’s a reason why he wants to at least keep Trump from lashing out, right?"

She explained that world leaders have been using that tactic to get a "no-drama" relationship with Trump and, given his hate for NATO in general, Rutte may be using the flattery for the sake of ease.

"This is the president of the United States. His words really matter. And he again threatened Iranian civilian targets when he said he was going to bomb Iran tonight. I mean, he throws this language around so indiscriminately. And I don’t think we can forget that it’s not normal. It’s very abnormal," she said.

Sargent noted that while the question was directed to Rutte and concerned his behavior with Trump, it was also a complete take down of Trump to his face.

While at the NATO summit, Trump embarrassed himself along with the U.S. several times, commented MS NOW host Jen Psaki and The Mirror US. Trump wandered off once, leaving Air Force One upon landing, and the president of Turkey had to grab his arm to steer him back on course. There were a number of mental missteps on Wednesday when Trump appeared to confuse Japan with Iran, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by the name of the Russian president and several other incidents.

Rutte's question further highlighted Trump's flubs, and "treated him as this buffoonish, irrelevant, sidelined figure, and essentially said, at this point, the only thing that matters now is how the rest of us react to this lunatic," Sargent said. "It’s all on us. It essentially says, no more enabling of this madman. The whole world sees how crazy and destructive he is. It’s time to stop."

Rutte, in his praise of Trump, agreed that Europe should be doing more on defense instead of relying so much on the U.S.

"Putting that aside," Sargent continued, "there’s no denying that Trump has essentially screwed over the alliance in all kinds of ways, is there?"

"And also screwed over America, right?" Saunders cited. "It’s very helpful to have these allies. This is the part that Trump has never appreciated — that having allies who will not just share the burden, but allow you to use their bases, provide all kinds of logistical support without having to occupy them — that’s a huge advantage."

Trump has been targeting Spain because the country doesn't want to allow the U.S. to use its airspace to continue the war in Iran. Those allies provide an advantage that China doesn't have today, Saunders said. But Trump is increasingly destabilizing those relationships.

"So the U.S. role in the alliance is special," she continued. "It has the most capabilities, especially the nuclear umbrella. But fundamentally, NATO boils down to trust. Trust that each country will in fact come to each other’s aid if attacked. And fundamentally, the most important country there has always been the U.S., and the credibility of the U.S. guarantee is the most important thing. Presidents have always sought to make that promise credible."

Trump has become "the single point of failure in this alliance, and they cannot allow — they need to build in some redundancies," Saunders explained.

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