The relationship between Donald Trump and the I’LL TAKE tenses again. The president of the United States receives this Wednesday at the White House to the secretary general of the alliance, Mark Ruttein a meeting to reduce the clash opened by the war with Iran and unrest with several European partners.
The appointment comes after days of threats and reproaches. Trump has even slipped the possibility that USA leave the Atlantic organization, upset by the lack of support for his demand to intervene to reopen the Strait of Hormuza key route for energy trade. The closure of that passage by Iran raised regional tension and gas prices. Thus, although the visit was already marked on the agenda in advance, the context in which it happens makes it even more significant,
Before the meeting, the White House spokeswoman, Caroline LeavittHe hardened his tone. “I have a direct quote from the president of the United States about NATO and I will share it with all of you: ‘were tested and failed‘”. He then added: “And I would add that it is quite sad that NATO has turned its back on the American people for the last six weeks, when it is the American people who have been funding his defense. “As you know, President Trump will be meeting with Secretary Rutte in a couple of hours here at the White House, and I know he looks forward to having a very frank and very candid conversation with him.”
The threat of a breakup
Asked about the possibility of Washington leaving the alliance, Leavitt did not rule it out. “It’s something that the president has talked about, and I think it’s something that he will talk about in a couple of hours with Secretary General Rutte, and perhaps you will hear directly from the president after that meeting later this afternoon.” The response left the door open to escalate the pulse with the I’LL TAKE or back down as it has done with the announcement of the ceasefire in Iran.
Trump maintains that allies have not been up to par during the crisis with Iran. In parallel, he increased the pressure on Tehran to the point of threatening to attack power plants and bridges, ensuring that “an entire civilization will die tonight.” Hours later, however, USA e Iran They agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait, although the details remain unclear.
The reopening of Hormuz aims to be one of the central issues of the conversation between Trump and Rutte. The meeting was scheduled to be held behind closed doors, although in this White House the formats can change at the last minute and be opened to the press.
A discomfort that comes from afar
The tension between Trump and the Atlantic alliance did not begin with Iran. The Republican has spent years criticizing allies who, in his opinion, do not spend enough on defense and has repeated that he does not intend to protect countries that do not assume more military burdens. In his first term he already hinted that he could independently remove the United States from the organization, founded in 1949 to confront the Soviet threat in Europe.
That movement now runs into a legal obstacle. In 2023, Congress passed a law preventing any president from recalling USA of the I’LL TAKE without parliamentary authorization. One of the promoters of this norm was the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubiothen senator from Florida.
Rubio met this Wednesday morning with Rutte at the State Department before the meeting at the White House. According to the official statement, both discussed the war with Iran, Washington’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war between Russia y Ukraine and “increased coordination and burden-sharing with NATO allies.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, DC, April 8, 2026 / Barefoot JIM / EFE
Pressure on the alliance
Trump’s discomfort has also been aggravated by specific decisions by some partners. Spain y France They banned or restricted the use of their airspace or joint military facilities for US operations in the war with Iran, a position that irritated the White House. Even so, those countries and other allies did agree to collaborate in an international coalition to reopen Hormuz once the conflict ends.
Faced with the president’s tone, some Republican voices have come out in defense of the alliance. The senator Mitch McConnell recalled that, after the September 11 attacks, NATO allies sent their soldiers to fight and die alongside the Americans in Afghanistan e Irak. He also called on Trump to be “clear and consistent” and warned that it is not in the country’s interests to spend more time fueling grievances with allies than deterring common adversaries.
The meeting with Rutte will thus serve to measure something more than the personal relationship between the two. It will be a test of how far Trump is willing to go in his fight with the I’LL TAKE and whether the crisis opened by Iran accelerates a deterioration that has already been brewing for months.
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