NATO briefing room erupts in laughter as reporter asks if 'daddy' Trump considers allies his 'children'

Although U.S. President Donald Trump was highly critical of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the past, he decided to attend the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands — where, during a Wednesday, June 25 press briefing, he took questions from reporters from around the world.

One of the questions came from British reporter Deborah Haynes, who is with Sky News and inspired some laughter when she noted that NATO Secretary General and former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had referred to the U.S. president as "daddy."

Haynes told Trump, "Mark Rutte, the NATO chief who is your friend — he called you daddy earlier. Do you regard your NATO allies as kind of children?"

READ MORE: MAGA rages as Trump judge goes 'squishy' before upcoming decisions

With reporters in the press room laughing, Trump humorously responded, "No, he likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn't, I'll let you know. I'll come back, and I'll hit him hard. OK?"

Hayne reiterated her question, however, asking Trump, "Do you regard your NATO allies, though, as kind of like children? And they're obviously listening to you, and they're spending more. And you're obviously appreciative of that. But do you hope that actually, they're going to be able to defend themselves, defend Europe on their own?"

Trump — who was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the press briefing — told Haynes, "I think they need help a little bit at the beginning. And I think they'll be able to, and I think they're going to remember this day. And this is a big day for NATO. You know, this was a very big day."

READ MORE: New Trump plan gives the White House greater influence in the fight against organized crime

Watch the full video below or at this link.