As much of Europe pushes back on President Donald Trump’s renewed push to acquire Greenland, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is striking a notably different tone — arguing Europeans should “be happy” Trump is in power.
Speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rutte said Trump’s pressure has pushed key European countries — including France, Italy, and Spain — to take defense spending more seriously. Without that pressure, he argued, many governments would not have committed to spending 2% of GDP on defense.
“I’m not popular with you now because I’m defending Donald Trump,” Rutte said during a panel titled “Can Europe defend itself?”, adding that he believes Europeans can be “happy that he is there” because he has forced Europe to “step up,” according to Politico.
Rutte’s comments land as Trump faces growing criticism across Europe over Greenland — a semi-autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Since early January, Trump has revived his bid to acquire Greenland. On Saturday, he raised the stakes further by announcing broad tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Finland, among others. Under the plan, a 10% tariff would begin Feb. 1, rise to 25% on June 1, and remain until what Trump called the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” is finalized.
European leaders have warned the confrontation could shake the alliance. Mette Frederiksen, Emmanuel Macron, and Mark Carney have all voiced opposition. Frederiksen has cautioned that a U.S. takeover could threaten NATO’s future and has said she would not rule out military action to defend Greenland.
Trump, who previously left open the possibility of using force, said during his Davos address that the United States would not use military action to take the Arctic territory.
Rutte, however, framed Trump’s influence as a net positive for NATO — particularly on burden-sharing. “No way, without Donald Trump this would never have happened. They’re all on 2 percent now,” he said, arguing the shift is “crucial” for the European and Canadan side of NATO.
He also pointed to last summer’s agreement among NATO members to raise defense spending targets from 2% of GDP to 5% by 2035 — an outcome he attributed to continued pressure from Trump, who has long criticized European allies for underinvesting while the U.S. carries a disproportionate share of the cost.
“The Americans still have over 80,000 soldiers in Europe,” Rutte noted, including deployments in Poland and Germany. He added that with Washington seeking to pivot more toward Asia, it is “only logical” for Europe to increase its role in long-term defense planning.
Asked whether Trump’s Greenland push has put NATO into crisis, Rutte dismissed that idea, saying, “I think we are really working in the right direction.”
