Fox News' Shannon Bream presses Mark Rutte on President Trump's 'NATO is a paper tiger' remarks

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A sharp exchange unfolded on Fox News when anchor Shannon Bream directly questioned NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte over recent comments by President Donald Trump, who had slammed US allies for their response to the Iran conflict.

The interview, which aired Sunday, March 22, quickly zeroed in on the growing gap between Trump’s public frustration and NATO’s claims of coordinated action with Bream repeatedly pressing Rutte to reconcile the two.

Shannon Bream presses Rutte on Trump’s remarks

Bream went straight to the core of the controversy, highlighting Trump’s criticism and questioning whether it aligned with NATO’s current narrative.

Bream said “President has been very frustrated and he's called NATO allies paper tigers, what do you think of this?”

Rutte acknowledged the tension upfront, saying “I know the president was angry because he feels that European and other allies have been too slow.”

But he quickly pointed to what he described as recent movement among allies “The good news here is that, since Thursday, a group of 22 countries, most of them from NATO but also Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, and Bahrain were coming together to make sure the Strait of Hormuz is free, is opening up as soon as possible.”

Bream, however, didn’t let the point slide and pressed him directly, asking “How does that square with what you’re saying now about their willingness to show up?”

The question forced Rutte to explain not just NATO’s actions but the timing behind them.

Mark Rutte explains delay, points to secrecy and planning

Responding in detail, Rutte argued that what appeared to be hesitation was actually the result of operational constraints.

He said “The United States has been planning for this for weeks. For obvious reasons, because of security, it was impossible to share that knowledge with allies, because that would have prevented the effect of the first attack, because there was a risk always of leaking.

So, I totally understand why the US was not able to share this with allies.”

He then emphasized that allies were not inactive during that period, but instead preparing for coordinated action once conditions allowed.

He asserted saying “At the same time it means that European allies and partners all over the world have used the last couple of weeks to make sure that we come together, to start planning to see what we can do collectively as allies, as partners of the United States, at the moment that’s possible for the Strait of Hormuz to open up, and, therefore, answering the president’s call on this.”

Rutte also revealed what he told Trump directly in response to the criticism “And that’s what I told him. I said, ‘Hey, they are following your lead.’”

Despite being pressed on Trump’s harsh rhetoric, Rutte struck a notably supportive tone when discussing the broader US role in the conflict involving Iran.

He noted that he had spoken with Trump “several times” over the past week and described the US objective as essential.

According to Rutte, the mission to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons was both “crucial” and “necessary.”

He added “I commend the president’s leadership on this.”