Trump stunned as NATO chief drops unexpected 'daddy' bombshell. US President's face says it all

US President Donald Trump responded to a reporter's question about NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte calling him "daddy" in the context of settling the Iran-Israel conflict. Trump laughed off jokingly being called "daddy" by NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte.

"He likes me, I think he likes me," Trump said Wednesday at the NATO summit in the Netherlands, responding to a journalist's question about Rutte's "daddy" remark and if the president views NATO allies as like his children.

"If he doesn't, I'll let you know and I'll hit him hard, OK? He did, he did it very affectionately. Daddy, you're my daddy." "He did it very affectionately," Trump said regarding the comment made by his "friend" Rutte.



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Who's Daddy?

NATO chief made the remark in reference to Trump's intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict where he angrily pulled both sides back from violating the ceasefire he had just brokered. President Donald Trump and Rutte shared a headline-grabbing moment in The Hague, with Rutte jokingly referring to Trump as "Daddy" during a press conference.

The exchange followed Trump's comparison of the Israel-Iran conflict to "two kids in a schoolyard," saying they had to fight it out before being stopped. Rutte responded, "Then Daddy has to sometimes use strong language," drawing laughter from the room.

During a joint press appearance on Wednesday, the NATO secretary general reacted to a bombastic statement on Iran and Israel from the US president, referring to his role as that of a "daddy" to Israel and Iran in the dispute during a press conference.

ALSO READ: NATO chief dubs Trump 'daddy' as US President likens Israel-Iran conflict to 'two kids in school yard'

"They fought like hell, and then they said let's stop," Trump said of Israel and Iran.

"They're not gonna be fighting each other. They've had it. Like two kids in a schoolyard - you know they fight like hell, and you can't stop them. Let them fight for about two three minutes and then it's easier to stop them," said the US president.

"Then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop,” Rutte quipped, referencing Trump's use of an expletive on Tuesday, when he told reporters: "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing. Do you understand that?"

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NATO chief clarifies Trump comment

Mark Rutte sought to clarify an eyebrow-raising comment he made during a bilateral news conference with President Trump on Wednesday: He doesn’t consider the U.S. leader “daddy” and was making a reference in jest.

“The daddy thing, I didn’t call him ‘daddy,'” Rutte told reporters later in the day. “What I said is that sometimes, in Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, ‘Hey, Mark, will the U.S. stay with us?’ And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, ‘Hey, are you still staying with the family?’ So in that sense, I used ‘daddy’ — not that I was calling President Trump daddy.”

(With agency inputs)