Calling Trump “a good friend,” Rutte said he “deserves all the praise” for pressuring several NATO allies to increase their defense spending from 2 percent to 5 percent. Trump previously lashed out at NATO partners for relying too heavily on the U.S. for military support.

THE HAGUE - He’s already the world’s most powerful man, but US President Donald Trump got a new nickname on June 25 from Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte – the “Daddy”. The two leaders were joshing ahead of the Nato summit when Mr Trump reprised his analogy of warring countries Iran and Israel being like squabbling children.

When former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte took over as NATO chief last year his primary task was clear: keep Donald Trump on board should he come back to power. That very nearly ended up blowing up in Rutte's face when Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threw a last-minute spanner in the works by baulking at the spending deal.