Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was moving to cut off trade with Spain after the nation displayed less than friendly behavior to U.S. military forces amid the ongoing operations against Iran.
“Some of the European nations have been helpful, and some haven’t. Germany has been great,” the president remarked in the Oval Office, whilst German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sat beside him during a bilateral press conference.
The president also praised NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as “fantastic,” but slammed Spain for being “terrible.”
“I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain,” President Trump said, referring to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“Spain said we can’t use their bases,” he added. “…They were unfriendly.”
The president said that Spain, while refusing to let U.S. forces use its air bases, “have great people, but they don’t have great leadership.”
He also slammed Spain for its refusal to pay into NATO. As a technically delinquent member, Spain’s current GDP on defense spending falls below the NATO 5 percent spending benchmark.
“They were the only people in NATO that would not agree to go up to five percent,” the president remarked. “…So, we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain.”
President Trump even took a swipe at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, voicing his continued distaste for the PM’s decision to move forward with a deal that will cede the island of Diego Garcia back to the small country of Mauritius – the site of an important US-UK joint military base.
The base has been a somewhat secretive site, but its location just east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean has provided a convenient place for U.S. servicemembers to land in the past.
“[It] would have been much more convenient landing there,” President Trump remarked, voicing his disapproval of Starmer’s decision. “…This is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with.”