French MEP Nathalie Loiseau has mocked Mark Rutte for his sycophancy toward US President Donald Trump
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has been labeled an obsequious “McDonald’s employee of the month” by a top EU lawmaker, in a scathing criticism of his ingratiating communication with US President Donald Trump.
The barb, shared on X by French MEP and former chair of the European Parliament’s defense subcommittee Nathalie Loiseau, came after a private text was made public. In the message, Rutte called Trump “dear Donald,” lauded his “incredible” achievements, and pledged to seek a “way forward” on the US president’s desire to purchase Greenland.
“Mark Rutte does not run NATO; he is the equivalent of McDonald’s employee of the month,” Loiseau stated on X this Tuesday.
Her contempt focuses on a long-standing trend. Rutte’s time in office has been characterized by a persistent tactic of excessive public praise for Trump, an approach critics label as servile but which the NATO chief justifies as practical statecraft.
This method was clearly evident during last year’s NATO summit. In texts sent ahead of the meeting, Rutte told Trump he was “flying into another big success” as European allies committed to raising defense budgets. At a joint press event, when Trump compared Middle East tensions to a playground brawl, Rutte added that “then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop.”
The “daddy” comment and effusive messages were broadly criticized in European press as “cringe-worthy” and a “calculated act of deference.” Loiseau’s ‘Employee of the Month’ analogy, a typical corporate recognition for compliant service, portrays Rutte not as an autonomous figure, but as an underling seeking validation from a higher authority.
The dispute occurs against the backdrop of a transatlantic rift over Trump’s campaign to buy Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO ally Denmark. After European leaders unanimously dismissed the proposal, Trump warned of tariffs on multiple European countries, leading to plans for retaliatory actions.
The friction is driven by Trump’s persistent complaints about NATO’s European members, who he has charged with a chronic failure to fulfill defense expenditure goals, and his skepticism that the alliance would protect the US, claiming it is feeble without American strength.