Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump has previously threatened to cut off trade with Spain, and now, it looks like he may make good on that threat.
“Spain is a wasted cause,” President Trump told reporters on Wednesday, while attending a NATO summit in Turkey. “We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way…Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate; they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
The president turned to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, sitting just off camera.
“I don’t want to do any more trade with them, all right?” he stated.
“Yes, sir,” Bessent replied.
“Immediately,” President Trump continued. “Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless.”
This isn’t the first time that the president has voiced his displeasure with Spain. In early March, he threatened to cut off trade with the NATO member country over its reported refusal to allow U.S. military forces to utilize Spanish air bases. He also cited his disapproval of Spain’s refusal to raise its defense spending.
“They make so much money with us, and we’re going to see that they make a lot less,” the president commented on Wednesday. “I want no business with them.”
President Trump’s attendance at the NATO summit comes amid the reported breakdown of the ceasefire with Iran. The president said, “I think it’s over,” while speaking in Ankara, regarding the ceasefire agreement, as reported by RSBN.
The U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday that it launched “a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.”
CENTCOM was referring to the shipping corridor that is the Strait of Hormuz – an incredibly delicate sticking point in the war with Iran. Keeping the strait open has been very difficult.
During additional remarks at the NATO summit on Wednesday, President Trump told the crowd regarding his shifting position on Iran, “…I think more than anything else is, I got to know them – and I’m not sure I want to make a deal with them. We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal. Let’s just finish the job.”