ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
The international press corps was left stunned overnight after US President Donald Trump published a private message from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to his Truth Social account, once again confirming two longstanding assumptions.
Trump has no concept of diplomacy, and the Dutch are fucken weird.
The message, which was sent as Air Force One crossed the Atlantic, welcomed the President to The Hague ahead of this week’s NATO summit.
“Looking forward to welcoming you to your summit,” wrote Rutte.
“Everything is prepared exactly as discussed. You are a vital presence, and your leadership gives this alliance strength.”
Trump posted the message in full, without redaction or warning, moments before landing in The Netherlands.
A NATO spokesperson confirmed the message was genuine, and admitted the contents were “not ideal” in terms of optics. The release has triggered yet another round of crisis talks among member states about information security, leadership integrity, and the extent to which Western Europe is willing to debase itself to keep the US in the tent.
Rutte, a former Dutch Prime Minister now heading the alliance, is known within diplomatic circles as a “Trump whisperer.” A title that, based on today’s developments, appears to involve sycophancy on a near-Bill Shorten-knocking-back-Cristal-at-Raheen-level.
Observers have also questioned the cultural tone of the message, which included references to Dutch royal protocol and “the warm joy we feel in your presence.”
One official from the UK Foreign Office described the message as “suggesting that we are the Soho public toilet and Trump is Australian broadcaster Alan Jones.”
Australian diplomats, reading the leak from Canberra, were less concerned with protocol and more focused on Rutte’s behaviour.
“We get it. He wants Article 5 on the record. But Jesus Christ. It’s like he’s like a dog with his dick out,” said one senior DFAT official.
“Dutch people have always been weird, but this is a new level.”
More to come.
