Trump criticizes Spain over NATO spending, threatens “consequences”
During a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump reignited tensions with Spain, accusing Madrid of refusing to meet his proposed increase in NATO defense spending, reports a Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
Trump recalled that at the June NATO summit, “I requested that they pay 5%, not 2%,” adding that “we had one laggard. It was Spain. Spain. You have to call them and find out: Why are they a laggard?”
Spain had successfully pushed for an exemption at the summit, maintaining its defense expenditure at around 2% of GDP — the existing NATO benchmark. Trump, however, expressed frustration, suggesting punitive measures: “They have no excuse not to do this, but that’s all right. Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly.”
The U.S. president later went further, describing Spain’s stance as “hostile” and warning that its economy “could be blown right out of the water with something bad happening.” He claimed Spain was taking a “free ride” on the alliance’s security commitments while benefiting economically from trade with the United States.
Spain, a NATO member since 1982, has consistently advocated for balanced defense spending among allies and prioritizing non-military contributions such as cybersecurity and humanitarian operations.
Despite the harsh rhetoric, NATO analysts believe a U.S.-Spain confrontation is unlikely to escalate beyond political rhetoric, given the two nations’ shared interests in European and Mediterranean security.
Earlier, it was reported that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made his second visit to the White House in five months amid mounting economic pressure to resolve U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles, and other key exports.