NATO’s Rutte compares Trump to a ‘daddy’ with children fighting, after US president’s profane comments

US President Donald Trump arrives for a social dinner at the 'Huis ten Bosch' Royal Palace during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, on June 24, 2025 (JOHN THYS / AFP)
US President Donald Trump arrives for a social dinner at the 'Huis ten Bosch' Royal Palace during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, on June 24, 2025 (JOHN THYS / AFP)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte likened US President Donald Trump to a “daddy” intervening in a schoolyard brawl after the US leader used profanity when describing the war between Israel and Iran.

In comments to the press during a NATO summit in The Hague, Trump had compared fighting between Iran and Israel to children quarreling.

“They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about 2-3 minutes, then it’s easy to stop them.”

Rutte laughs and adds: “And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get (them to) stop.”

On Tuesday, following a ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel, Trump said the countries had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”

NATO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump also compared on Wednesday the impact of the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites to the end of World War II, when the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war. This ended the war,” Trump said.

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