Media outlets noted that the fawning "Daddy" joke ended up stealing the spotlight, underscoring a sobering reality: The summit reflected NATO's shift toward U.S.-centric theatrics, with Europe's core concerns largely pushed aside.
THE HAGUE, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The two-day NATO summit that concluded Wednesday in the Netherlands will be remembered less for its policy outcomes than for a flippant moment that dominated headlines: the now-infamous "Daddy" joke.
During the summit, U.S. President Donald Trump likened Israel and Iran to unruly children, while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, in a display of flattery, compared Trump to a "dad" stepping in to discipline them. "Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop," Rutte said.
Trump appeared quite pleased with Rutte's "Daddy" nickname, telling reporters at a later press conference Wednesday that the remark was meant "very affectionately." "Daddy, you're my Daddy," Trump mimicked.
Rutte later defended the comment, but only doubled down on the flattery, calling Trump a "good friend" and insisting that his military strike on Iran "deserves all the praise."
While the "Daddy" joke went viral, the actual summit yielded little of substance. Media outlets noted that the fawning "Daddy" joke ended up stealing the spotlight, underscoring a sobering reality: The summit reflected NATO's shift toward U.S.-centric theatrics, with Europe's core concerns largely pushed aside.
The final communique, just five paragraphs long, was the shortest in NATO's history and focused heavily on military spending, at Washington's insistence. Britain and the Netherlands indeed announced new military aid packages for Ukraine. However, these commitments were made bilaterally rather than through NATO's collective framework. Notably, the summit's final communique omitted the 2024 declaration that Ukraine's path to NATO membership was "irreversible," signaling a potential shift in the alliance's stance.
In their place came a symbolic commitment to boost defense spending, largely intended to appease Trump. NATO members agreed to raise military spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, more than doubling the previous 2-percent guideline.
Yet even as Trump made clear that the United States would not be bound by the new target, he insisted that others must comply. Spain, Slovakia, and Belgium openly questioned the feasibility of such increases, citing domestic constraints and economic priorities.
Amid chuckles and laughters prompted by the "Daddy" jest, a fact about NATO is evident: Europe has to give in from time to time while Washington never forgets to take advantage of the situation.■
