Trump softens on Spain after learning how much Madrid actually spends on NATO
United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has softened his tone on Spain just a day after describing Madrid as a “terrible NATO partner” and threatening to cut all trade ties.
Spain’s government says the shift came after Trump learned just how much Madrid has increased its NATO spending in recent years.
The clash between the U.S. and Spain stemmed from the European country’s rigorous criticism of U.S.-Israel war against Iran and long-running disputes over defense spending.
Trump called Spain a “wasted cause” and told reporters the US didn’t want to do business with the country anymore. He also directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to prepare a trade cutoff.
Just hours later, on his flight home aboard Air Force One, Trump spoke out about Spain but in a completely different tone.
Speaking to the reporters, the 47th POTUS said: “I did have issues, and I still do, but Spain has come back all the way and been very generous.”
A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Trump appeared to be referring to Spain meeting NATO’s older defense spending target of 2% of GDP.
Sanchez pointed out at the summit that Spain would hit that mark this year, after more than doubling its defense budget since 2017, from under 1% of GDP to nearly 33 billion euros, about $37.7 billion.
