Trump’s new attack on the Spanish Government. The US president has attacked Pedro Sánchez for not reaching 5% of GDP in defense: “Spain is incredibly disrespectful and they should be punished.”
“They are the only country that did not increase their percentage to 5%,” Trump said when asked by Efe, present at the pool press release for the visit of the president of Argentina, Javier Milei: “All the other NATO countries increased it to 5%, and Spain is doing very well at our expense. So I am not happy with Spain.”
“Spain receives protection,” Trump said, “even if you don’t want to protect them, you protect them because of their location. And I think what Spain did is very bad for NATO. I think it’s very unfair for NATO. It wouldn’t matter if you said you’re not going to protect them, because they’re practically protected. What are you going to do? Go through the other countries and attack Spain? So I think what they did is not right.”
According to Trump, “It’s very disrespectful to NATO. In fact, I was thinking about imposing trade punishment on them through tariffs for what they did. And I think I could do it, it’s incredibly disrespectful, the only one of all the NATO countries that said that is Spain, and I think they should be punished for it.”
The US president’s criticism comes a day after congratulating allies for pushing Spain to increase defense spending. “Are you working on the GDP issue?” Trump snapped at the leaders gathered in Egypt: “We’ll get closer, we’ll get closer, but you’re doing a fantastic job.”
Trump’s pressure comes a week after the US president proposed expelling Spain from NATO for not committing to spending 5% on defense at the Alliance’s last summit and stating that with 2% it can achieve the military objectives committed to the Atlantic Alliance.
The Government downplays its importance
This Tuesday, the Spanish Government downplayed the threat from the president of the United States. Sources from Moncloa refer to the meeting between Trump and Sánchez at the peace summit held this Monday in Egypt, “in an official event of great international significance.”
The Executive refers to the fact that in Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) the president of the United States, during his final speech, joked about the discrepancies with Spain in relation to defense spending.
Threat of expulsion
The president of the United States suggested last Thursday expelling Spain from NATO for refusing to increase defense spending to 5%, in an event at the White House together with the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb.
“We had a laggard, which was Spain,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They have no excuse not to do it, but that’s okay. Maybe we should kick them out of NATO, frankly,” he added: “We had a straggler, it was Spain. Spain. They have to call them and find out why they’re straggling, and they’re doing well too. I think because of a lot of the things we’ve done, they’re doing well. They have no excuse not to do this. But that’s fine. Maybe we should kick them out of NATO, frankly.”
“You were great about it. Spain has not been. Spain is the one that did not do it. And that is why I think that you will have to start talking to Spain. The only one that did not do it, the only NATO country that did not do it, is Spain. And… you can imagine what that is about,” he told Stubb.
New possible trade war
Trump already charged at the NATO summit last June against Spain after the Spanish Government’s refusal to assume 5% in defense spending, and he revolted against the agreement between the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, at the closing press conference of the summit in The Hague: “It is the only country that will not pay in full, they want to stay at 2%. I think it is terrible. You know, they are doing better very well, the economy is doing very well, and that economy could disappear in one fell swoop if something bad happened.”
“I don’t know what the problem is,” Trump continued: “I think it’s a shame. So we’ll make up for it, we’re going to do it. We’re negotiating a trade deal with Spain and we’re going to make them pay double, I’m serious. We’re going to force Spain, I like Spain, it’s a great place and they’re great people, but Spain is the only country, of all the countries, that refuses to pay.”
“They’ve gotten away with it a little bit,” Trump said, “but they’re going to have to pay us in trade, because I’m not going to let that happen. It’s unfair. It’s not right.”
Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, in turn charged in an interview with Politico: “They claim that they can do it for less, but Spain right now has deep internal political challenges. They have a center-left government that basically wants to spend very little or nothing on defense. And they have been recalcitrant. I think that is one of the issues that leaders will have to face. It is a shame. Spain is a country with capacity and that contribute, send and train troops and can do certain things. We have a presence there on the ground. But I do not believe that the agreement that Spain has reached is sustainable and, frankly, it puts them in a very difficult situation with respect to their other allies and partners.”
Spain, in Trump’s target
Last June, the US leader pressured NATO countries to increase their commitment to defense spending, which should go from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035.
The Government of Pedro Sánchez opposed this increase and obtained an agreement to link defense spending to objectives and capabilities, instead of to a specific percentage of GDP. Trump, then, entered the clash: he assured that the Atlantic Alliance “has a problem with Spain.”
A day later, at the summit, the North American president announced retaliation against the refusal to increase defense spending to 5%. “He is the only one who refuses to pay. We are going to make them pay double,” he said. A threat that he ultimately did not carry out. “I’m serious, we’re going to make them pay,” he added, however.
Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte said at the final press conference: “There is disagreement that they believe they can achieve these capabilities targets with 2.1% and NATO, which says it has to be 3.5% just for pure defense spending. All allies will report on how they are achieving the commitment. So we will see, and in 2029, in any case, we will review all this.”
In this way, Sánchez achieved a kind of exception, criticized by many members, despite the fact that the organization did not see it possible that it could meet the commitments acquired with only 2.1%. Instead, it placed the percentage at at least 3.5%.
According to the head of the Spanish Executive, 2.1% of GDP is enough to meet the demands of the Alliance in terms of security and collective defense, despite the doubts expressed by its partners. “If he can do it, he is a genius,” the Belgian Prime Minister ironically said.
“Although Spain did not enter, it will,” Trump later threatened: “I guarantee it.” “They have gotten away with it a little bit,” he maintained.
On August 28, NATO itself calculated that all countries had reached 2% in defense commitments in 2014, including Spain. This percentage, however, keeps the country among the allies that allocate the least proportion of their GDP to this area. In the year-on-year comparison, according to Alliance figures, Spain has increased its defense spending by 43.11%, from 22,693 million euros in 2024 to 33,123 million this year.
Source: www.eldiario.es
