In a series of statements that have escalated diplomatic tension to critical levels, the American president has pointed to Spain as a partner that "is not behaving well" due to its refusal to increase military spending on the terms demanded by Washington.
Trump has gone beyond the usual budgetary criticisms by directly appealing to Spain's history, recalling the "disaster of '98" and the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines as a warning about the consequences of defense weakness. "The Spaniards belong to NATO, but they are not very good members," he stated emphatically through his communication channels, before issuing a grim warning: "they will soon learn." These words reflect the deep discomfort of the White House, which believes that countries like Spain, Italy, or the United Kingdom have not adequately responded to requests for assistance following the start of the war in Iran on February 28.
In his messages, the president has described as "ridiculous" the disproportion in investment among allied powers. According to the data provided by the president, the United States allocates $999 billion to common defense, a figure that contrasts drastically with that of other partners such as France ($66.5 billion), Italy ($48.8 billion), or Poland ($44.3 billion), while the numbers for Spain and Germany are significantly lower. Trump has reiterated that his country protects allies "without receiving any benefit in return" and has even described NATO as a "paper tiger."
Faced with the threat of withdrawing American troops from European soil —or even pulling the U.S. out of the Alliance, a measure that could not be unilaterally adopted—, Secretary-General Mark Rutte has intensified his mediation efforts. Rutte, after recently meeting with Trump, is confident that the Ankara summit will serve to announce new defense contracts worth billions of dollars that could benefit American companies and appease the demands of the Trump administration. However, the direct targeting of Spain marks a turning point that leaves the country in a compromised position ahead of the imminent meeting in Turkey.