No, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte didn’t say he’d expel US if Trump helps Russia with Ukraine

Two days after Election Day, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte posted on X about President-elect Donald Trump’s win. 

"I spoke with @realDonaldTrump to personally congratulate him on his remarkable election victory," the Nov. 7 post said. "I look forward to seeing him soon. We will work together to tackle the many security challenges we face."

But other social media posts suggest Rutte’s well-wishes weren’t genuine. 

"Breaking," a Nov. 10 Threads post said. "NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says that ‘if Trump surrenders Ukraine to Putin, he will personally expel the United States from the alliance.’"

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

We found no credible evidence, such as news reports, NATO press releases or public statements from Rutte, to corroborate this claim. 

NATO spokesperson Daniele Riggio told PolitiFact the claim is "bogus."

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"Secretary General Rutte has never said this," Riggio said. 

A Nov. 6 statement from Rutte, published on NATO’s website, said: "Through NATO, the U.S. has 31 friends and allies who help to advance U.S. interests, multiply American power and keep Americans safe. Together, NATO Allies represent half of the world’s economic might and half of the world’s military might."

On Nov. 7, responding to a reporter’s question about Ukraine before a meeting of the European Political Community, a platform for European countries to coordinate, Rutte again congratulated Trump, calling Trump’s election  a "huge success" and that he looks forward to working with him again. As for the war in Ukraine, Rutte said, "I also look forward to sit down with President Trump and to navigate how collectively we’ll make sure that we face this threat and that we keep our part of the world safe." 

Rutte has also stressed publicly that Russia’s war in Ukraine is a security threat for the United States — "a clear message" to Trump, Politico said. 

NATO has no specific mechanism to suspend or expel member nations, Politico reported in July, after Israel urged the organization to remove Turkey over its president’s threats to send troops into Israel. 

In 2021, then-Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg dismissed the idea of introducing a mechanism to expel members. 

"Even if I recommend it, it would never happen," Stoltenberg said, "because we need consensus to do that."  

We rate this post False.