Donald Trump has instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to sever all economic ties between the U.S. and Spain, calling the country a “wasted cause” and “a terrible partner in Nato.”
Speaking at a joint press conference with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte on day two of the military alliance’s latest summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump was discussing the bilateral talks he had held with other nations.
“I spoke to Italy… I didn’t speak to Spain,” he said. “Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. I’d like to cut it out. Spain is a terrible partner in Nato.”
He continued: “Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits. OK? We don’t want anything to do… Watch them come running back. They’ll come running back.”
Pointing to Rutte, he added: “They treat this man terribly.”
Returning to his frustrations with Spain later in the conversation, Trump said: “I don’t want to do any more trade with them… Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless.
“They’re bad people because, you know, they have everybody else paying and working. In particular, Spain. There are a couple of others but in particular Spain.”
Rutte attempted to come to the country’s defense but Trump remained silent and appeared unmoved by his arguments.
The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez responded quickly to the president’s comments with a statement that dismissed his remarks by saying they would be treated as “business as usual.”
It added that Spain “has strong social, cultural, and economic ties with the U.S., and we do not plan to change this.”
Trump has recently revived a gripe from his first term about Nato members not meeting their financial obligations to pay for the upkeep of the alliance.
Last year, the 32 allies – under pressure from the U.S. – agreed to adopt a new goal of spending 5 percent of their GDP on Nato by 2035, with 3.5 percent going towards defense and the remaining 1.5 percent on cyber security and infrastructure.
Only Spain refused, with Sanchez securing an exemption for his country that capped its contribution at 2.1 percent of GDP, which he called “sufficient and realistic.”
Clearly displeased, Trump made a similar attack at an Oval Office meeting with Rutte on June 24 in which he rebuked the U.S.’s European allies for declining to support his war against Iran, singling out Madrid for particular criticism.
“Spain is a horror show,” he said. “Spain is terrible. I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK. We were disappointed with Germany and France.
“We’re disappointed with most of them. They don’t want to pay anything. They think they’re in for a free ride. Spain is not a good group. Not a good group at all.”
In his latest sitdown with Rutte, Trump also said the memorandum of understanding he had signed with Iran to end the conflict was now over, declaring that he no longer wanted to engage with Tehran either, saying its leadership consisted only of “sick people.”
The U.S. has unleashed new military strikes on Iran and revoked a licence allowing it to sell oil in response to attacks on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz – the latest blow to an already fragile ceasefire agreement.
Asked about its future in light of the retaliation, Trump said: “It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them.
“They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”
Trump also praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, boasted of his follower numbers on TikTok and again revived his grievance with Denmark over its refusal to hand over control of Greenland, which he insisted was “very important for the United States.”
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