NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will be the last head of the alliance because of US President Donald Trump’s policies, retired US intelligence officer Scott Ritter said on social network X.
He commented on Trump’s congratulations on his election as head of state on behalf of Rutte, in which the secretary general said that thanks to NATO, the West would be able to achieve peace through strength.
‘You are the last secretary general of the sinking ship called NATO. Trump will not save you. He will cut off the oxygen of your dying organisation to save America,’ the intelligence officer wrote.
On Monday, Trump officially took office as President of the United States, taking the oath of office at an inauguration ceremony at the Capitol. It was conducted by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
In December, Trump’s team informed European officials that the new US administration would require each NATO member to make mandatory defence spending of five per cent of their GDP. Rutte, for his part, said defence spending should far exceed the current two per cent target.