The White House has hailed victory at the Nato summit in a highlight reel of President Donald Trump at the event, set to Usher’s hit song “Daddy’s Home”, in a nod to a comment made by secretary-general Mark Rutte.
The video, shared via the official White House account on X, showcased dramatic shots of Trump shaking hands with world leaders, speaking at the podium, and walking through the Nato summit in The Hague.
But it was the song choice that stole the spotlight.
During a press appearance alongside Trump, Rutte extended the US president’s metaphor likening the Israel-Iran conflict to two brawling children.
“They’re like two kids in a schoolyard,” Trump said, suggesting sometimes it’s best to let them fight it out before stepping in.
Rutte chimed in: “And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop.”
The quip sparked laughter from Trump and quickly became the soundbite of the summit.
Faced with growing media attention, Rutte clarified his comment, insisting it was “just a metaphor.”
He told reporters late on Wednesday: “The daddy thing, I didn’t call him daddy. What I said, is that sometimes. In Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, ‘Hey Mark, will the US stay with us?'”
“And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, ‘hey, are you still staying with the family?’ So in that sense, I used daddy, not that I was calling President Trump daddy.”
The exchange came after a fiery moment from Trump, who gave an expletive laden message to describe both Israel and Iran amid their latest missile exchange.
“They don’t know what the f**k they’re doing,” Trump said, before defending his administration’s military strike on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump’s decision to attack Iran’s nuclear programme was “extremely impressive,” the Nato chief told Trump. “The signal it sends to the rest of the world that this president, when it comes to it, yes, he is a man of peace, but if necessary, he is willing to use strength.”
The summit concluded with a landmark defence agreement whereby all Nato member states, bar Spain, will increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – a massive policy shift driven in large part by Trump’s long-standing demands for greater European burden-sharing.
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