NATO secretary-general has a quiet zinger after Trump goes off on Germany at breakfast

Jens Stoltenberg has a subtle sense of humor. — (Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Things are not off to a peachy start in Brussels, where President Trump spent breakfast bashing Germany as "captive to Russia," demanding they increase their defense spending, and asking NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, "So we're supposed to protect Germany when they're getting their energy from Russia? Explain that."

NATO officials are, naturally, in a bad mood, although Stoltenberg surprisingly wasn't among their number. Asked how breakfast with Trump went afterwards, he told The Wall Street Journal's Valentina Pop: "We had excellent orange juice and toast. We had a good breakfast. Paid by the U.S."

Trump seemed oblivious to Stoltenberg's dry sense of humor, announcing at the outset that the secretary general "may be the only one" who likes him.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.