Donald Trump again charges against Spain for military spending. “NATO countries are paying 5% instead of not paying 2%,” said the US president together with Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, in the Oval Office: “Many of them did not pay, with the exception of Spain.”
“I think we have to talk to Spain,” he told Rutte, “because Spain doesn't play as a team. Apart from Spain, everyone is at 100%. And I think Spain's problem could be solved easily if we wanted to.”
Trump made the comments about Spain while he and Rutte were answering questions about the plan to reach peace in Ukraine, and it comes after several attacks in a row over the same issue.
Last Friday, Trump considered the Government's decision on military spending “unfair”, and stated that “that is a matter for NATO and Spain.”
“Spain has not complied,” he said to questions from the Abc and Cope correspondent – who was part of the pool press release – at the beginning of the meeting with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky: “Spain has not been loyal to NATO. Everyone went from 2% to 5%, but Spain did not agree. I think Spain should be reprimanded for that. I think it is very bad that they did it, but that is a matter for NATO and Spain.”
Trump's response came after last Tuesday he threatened trade retaliation against Spain. “They are the only country that did not increase their percentage to 5%,” Trump then said to questions from Efe – a member that day of the pool press release – for the visit of the president of Argentina, Javier Milei: “All the other NATO countries increased it to 5%, and Spain is doing very well at our expense. So I am not happy with Spain.”
“Spain gets protection,” Trump said, “even if you don't want to protect them, you protect them because of their location. And I think what Spain did is very bad for NATO. I think it's very unfair for NATO. It wouldn't matter if you said you're not going to protect them, because they're practically protected. What are you going to do? Go through the other countries and attack Spain? So I think what they did is not right.”
According to Trump, “It's very disrespectful to NATO. In fact, I was thinking about imposing trade punishment on them through tariffs for what they did. And I think I could do it, it's incredibly disrespectful, the only one of all the NATO countries that said that is Spain, and I think they should be punished for it.”
Trump's pressure continues two weeks after the US president proposed expelling Spain from NATO for not committing to spending 5% on defense at the Alliance's last summit and affirming that with 2% it can achieve the military objectives committed to the Atlantic Alliance.
Rutte: “Spain cannot comply with less than 3.5%”
The Secretary General of NATO, before leaving the White House after his meeting with Trump, said something that he already said during the summit in The Hague at the end of June: that NATO's calculations are different from those made by Spain and that it will take much more than 2% to comply with the commitments of the Atlantic Alliance.
“Spain is the only country that now does not pay 5%,” said Rutte: “I have had numerous conversations with the President of the Government, President Sánchez. We know each other very well. Spain has committed to meeting the capabilities objectives. They say they can do it with a percentage lower than 3.5%. I have told them that they cannot, and very soon we will know who is right.”