NATO chief Mark Rutte confronted by Danish reporter over 'lack of self-respect'

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte faced pointed questions about his "self-respect" after sitting silently as U.S. President Donald Trump made angry, incendiary statements about taking over Greenland, restarting his war on Iran, and cutting off trade with Spain.

"Mark, you sit next to Donald Trump in moments where he talks about conquering Greenland, talked about lashing out at allies like Spain, starting trade wars—things that [don't] seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of," a Danish reporter asked Rutte shortly after his meeting with Trump on Wednesday. "Does this have any effect on your self-respect when you sit next to him like that and say nothing?"

Rutte deflected the question, responding: "You know, what I always do is acknowledge when praise is due, and I think we should praise Donald Trump for the fact that NATO is so much stronger. Of course, it has to do with the Russian threat, it has to do with the war in Ukraine, but it very much also has to do with President Trump … trying to equalize spending between the U.S. and Europe. And it makes Europe stronger. It makes Europe more relevant for the United States as a partner."

The short answer, apparently, is no—showing such deference to Trump while he makes threats against Greenland, lobbies against Spain, and again declares war on Iran has no impact on Rutte's self-respect. But it has an impact on the world's perception of him, as he uses flattery and submission to appease Trump rather than boldly defending what was once the Western world's most important post–Cold War institution.

Reminder: Trump Fails Basic Question About NATO Responsibilities

Trump Ordered to Release Funds to E. Jean Carroll

Donald Trump's latest attempt to avoid paying E. Jean Carroll involved a bold-faced lie to a federal judge.

In a legal filing submitted Tuesday, Trump's attorneys asked Judge Lewis Kaplan not to release some of the funds he owes to the beleaguered columnist, claiming the president's petition for a new hearing was still pending before the Supreme Court. The only problem: The Supreme Court had rejected Trump's petition filing.

By Wednesday morning, the SCOTUS docket had been updated to reflect that the nation's highest court was anticipating a corrected petition from the president's team. Hours later, it appeared that Kaplan had ordered the release of the funds to Carroll despite Trump's pending filing.

Background on the Case

• May 2023: A jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the mid-1990s, awarding her $5 million in damages.
• January 2024: Trump lost his defamation case against Carroll. Judge Kaplan ruled that Trump had continued to defame the advice columnist by denying the rape on the basis that she wasn't his "type" and by accusing her of making up the allegations for the benefit of her book. A jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in that case.
• May 2026: A federal appeals court allowed Trump to continue staving off payments until the Supreme Court decided whether to take up the case.
• Late June 2026: The Supreme Court rejected Trump's challenge, allowing the verdict to stand.

Recent Developments

Carroll has not yet received any payment from either legal victory. Late last month, Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan (not related to the judge) asked a judge to implement an expedited payment schedule for the sum Trump owes. She referred to a June 2023 filing in which both parties agreed that Carroll could collect if the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

Kaplan added that the $5 million sum had accrued an additional $779,783 in interest, raising Trump's debt in the initial case to nearly $5.8 million.

"This is the end of the line," Kaplan wrote in a June 30 filing. "It is time for him to pay Carroll."

This story has been updated.

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