Trump blasts Spain for insufficient NATO contribution, urges "cut off all trade"

U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Spain for not making enough contributions to NATO during the NATO summit in Turkey. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump said: “Spain is a bad partner within NATO. They don’t participate, and they don’t pay. I don’t want any relationship with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits.”

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He added: “Don’t even talk to them. They are hopelessly bad people.” Trump further said: “There are a few other countries, but especially Spain.”

The incident is the latest development in the dispute between Trump and Spain over defense spending. Spain is the only member of the military alliance that did not commit last year to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, as pledged. NATO leaders are currently meeting in Turkey’s capital, one year after allies pledged to more than double defense spending. Spain was granted an exemption at the time, becoming the only member to refuse to commit to the higher target.

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Trump had previously threatened Spain with tough trade agreements and said Spain’s unwillingness to commit to the new target was “terrible.”

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2025 Spain’s defense spending accounted for 2.1% of GDP, up from 1.4% in 2021, but it still lags behind most European countries. Sitting next to Trump, Stoltenberg said: “You got Spain to pay 2%. They made huge progress last year.” Stoltenberg added that Spain still has “problems that need to be solved.”

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The Spanish Prime Minister’s Office said it views Trump’s remarks as part of a consistent pattern. Citing Reuters, the Prime Minister’s Office said that U.S.-Spain bilateral relations are beneficial to both sides in terms of trade and defense.

Trump also criticized NATO again, saying he is “very unhappy with NATO,” even though Stoltenberg is “a great leader.” Over the past year, the relationship between Trump and Stoltenberg has been in the spotlight; Stoltenberg once called Trump “daddy,” and he has been actively pushing for the United States to continue its involvement in NATO. As leaders meet in Turkey, NATO is facing a major test of its credibility and future viability, while the White House is also subjecting new European defense spending targets to unprecedented scrutiny.

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Spanish government bonds were sold off before the press conference, and the sell-off intensified after Trump’s remarks. Spain’s benchmark 10-year government bond yield rose another 7 basis points to 3.5408%. Spain’s IBEX 35 index also fell, with the latest drop exceeding 1%.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told CNBC earlier this week that he believes the current tensions over European defense spending are just “growing pains.” He said: “I think these are just challenges we’ve dealt with in the past.” He noted uneven defense spending among European countries, including what he called “laggards,” which will need to commit to increased spending over the next decade. (da/)

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