NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte appeared to call President Trump "daddy" at an alliance summit Wednesday—and the White House embraced the nickname, though Rutte later clarified his remarks. The White House released a highlights reel from Trump's visit to the summit with Usher's "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" as the soundtrack, USA Today reports. On Thursday, Trump's political fundraising committee started selling a $35 Trump T-shirt and a Trump fundraising email had the title, "They're calling me daddy," reports NJ.com.
When Rutte was asked Wednesday about Trump swearing while talking about Iran and Israel the previous day, he chuckled and, with Trump sitting next to him, said, "Daddy has to sometimes use strong language," Time reports. Rutte later told Reuters that he was referring to how some countries view the US, not to Trump in particular. "In Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, 'Hey, Mark, will the US stay with us?'" he said. "And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, 'Hey, are you still staying with the family?'"
Later Wednesday, a reporter asked Trump about Rutte appearing to call him "daddy," wondering if the president thinks of other NATO countries as children. Trump replied, "He likes me. If he doesn't, I'll let you know, I'll come back, and I'll hit him hard." He added, "He did it very affectionately, 'Daddy, you're my daddy.'" Secretary of State Marco Rubio could be seen laughing in the background.
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