The White House on Wednesday posted a video montage of President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in the Netherlands, set to Usher’s “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),” drawing mixed reactions on social media.
It came just hours after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte referred to Trump as “Daddy” during a press conference, a moment that went viral.
Why It Matters
The White House appears to be embracing the viral moment involving Rutte calling Trump “daddy,” doubling down on the controversial remark by pairing a video with a song that makes reference to the term.
What To Know
🎶 Daddy’s home… Hey, hey, hey, Daddy.
President Donald J. Trump attended the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands. pic.twitter.com/asJb5FD2Ii
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 26, 2025
The 66-second video, posted to the official White House X account on Wednesday night, featured a highlight reel of Trump at the NATO summit.
It showed the president speaking with Rutte, taking questions alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and shaking hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The footage, set to Usher’s 2010 hit “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),” is captioned: “Daddy’s home… Hey, hey, hey, Daddy. President Donald J. Trump attended the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands.”
On Wednesday morning, Rutte referred to the president as “daddy” in a remark that appeared to defend Trump’s profanity-containing response to Israel and Iran violating the terms of a ceasefire he said he had brokered just hours before.
Trump’s ceasefire announcement followed nearly two weeks of escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran, which raised fears of a wider war. Trump intervened in the conflict and struck Iran’s nuclear infrastructure over the weekend with 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs.
At the summit Wednesday, Trump compared Israel and Iran to “two kids in a school yard” fighting.
“They fight like hell. You can’t stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes. Then it’s easier to stop them,” he said.
“Then daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” Rutte, who succeeded Jens Stoltenberg as NATO’s Secretary General in October, added.
Later that day, a journalist asked Trump about Rutte referring to him as “daddy” and whether he thought of America’s NATO allies as children.
“No, he likes me,” Trump responded. “I think he likes me. If he doesn’t, I’ll let you know. I’ll come back and I’ll hit him hard, OK? He did it very [affectionately], ‘Daddy, you’re my daddy.'”
Rutte later appeared to walk back his comments, saying he used the term as a metaphor.
But he also told a reporter Wednesday that he didn’t think it was “demeaning” for a NATO chief to refer to Trump as “daddy.”
“No, I don’t think so. I think it’s a bit of a question of taste,” Rutte said.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said Tuesday morning, accusing both Israel and Iran of violating his ceasefire: “You 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?”
The White House montage drew mixed reactions on social media.
Internet personality Mario Nawfal said on X: “Presidential meme game reaching unprecedented levels.”
American political commentator Benny Johnson wrote on X: “This is easily the best thing on the internet.”
Russia’s Kremlin newswire RT wrote on X: “‘DADDY’S Home’ aka President Trump. White House has a little fun after his NATO nickname stole the show.”
One X user asked: Who does this appeal to?
What Happens Next
Trump is back in the White House after returning from the NATO summit. He said U.S. and Iranian officials plan to meet next week.
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