US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all trade with Spain, calling Madrid a “terrible partner” in NATO.
Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the start of the summit in Ankara, Trump said he wanted “no business” with Spain, while also criticising NATO over Iran, Greenland and defence spending.
Trump told Rutte that Spain “doesn’t agree to anything” and should not be carried by the rest of the alliance.
“I don’t want to do any trade with them, alright?” Trump said, turning to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who replied: “Yes, sir.”
Trump then ordered immediate action, saying: “Take it immediately. Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless. They’re bad people.” He added that Spain made “so much money” from the United States and said Washington would now make sure Madrid earned “a lot less.”
“I want no business with them,” Trump said.
Trump calls Spain poor NATO ally
Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Spain, which has not agreed to NATO’s new defence spending target of 5% of GDP.
Spain’s Socialist leadership also refused to allow the United States to use Spanish airspace or military bases for the Iran war. The United States has two important military bases in Spain: Naval Station Rota and Moron Air Base.
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A US official told Reuters in April that an internal Pentagon email had outlined options for punishing NATO allies that Washington believed had failed to support US operations in the war with Iran. Those options included suspending Spain from the alliance.
‘Spain is a wasted cause,’ says Trump
Speaking on the sidelines of the Ankara summit, Trump described Spain as a “wasted cause” and said the United States no longer wanted to do trade business with Madrid.
“Spain is a terrible partner in NATO,” Trump said. “They don’t participate, they don’t pay.”
He also said he wanted all trade with Spain cut off, including visits. “Watch them come running back,” Trump added.
Trump further described Spain as a “failed country” and said it was not a good NATO ally.
Trump says US treated unfairly in NATO
Trump also widened his criticism to NATO as a whole, saying the United States was being treated unfairly by the alliance.
“NATO is America’s most difficult partner,” Trump said.
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He said he was “not happy” with NATO and claimed the alliance had not helped the United States against Iran. Trump also said America did not need NATO, while claiming Washington had spent a trillion dollars to protect NATO countries from Russia.
Greenland ‘a big problem’ for US, Trump says
Trump also said he was unhappy with NATO over Greenland. “Greenland is a big problem for us,” he told reporters.
He said the United States had supported NATO countries, but when Washington wanted support, the alliance was not there for it.
“We didn’t want them badly, but we did say, if you want to join us, and they all said no,” Trump said. “When they could have, they weren’t there for us, and we’ve been there for them.”
Trump also spoke about the memorandum of understanding, or interim deal, between Iran and the United States that had previously halted fighting between the two sides. He said he believed the deal was now finished.
“I think the memorandum of understanding is over,” Trump said.
The US president said he did not want to deal with Iran or the Iranian leadership, using harsh language and calling them “sick-minded people.”
Iran can never have nuclear weapons
Trump repeated that Iran would not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. “I will not let Iran have nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that Iran could “never” have them.
He claimed that if Iran had nuclear weapons, it would definitely use them.
Trump also said the United States had wasted a lot of time on the Iran issue and now had to “do our job.”
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The US president claimed that Iran’s navy and army had been dismantled. He also said he had eliminated the entire leadership of Iran and that “new people” were now in place.
Trump said Iran had attacked ships belonging to Saudi Arabia and other countries a day earlier. He also claimed that 5,000 planes had flown from Europe to support military action against Iran.
Spain responds calmly
The Spanish prime minister’s office said Madrid was taking Trump’s comments calmly and treating them as “business as usual.”
The statement said Spain had no intention of changing its excellent social, cultural and economic relationship with the United States.
Madrid also listed three points in response to Trump’s remarks. First, Spain said the United States runs a trade surplus with Spain, meaning Washington benefits more from the trade relationship than Madrid does.
Second, the statement said the European Union is a customs and trade union, and individual member states cannot be singled out, as the European Commission has underlined several times.
Third, Spain said economic ties are built by private companies, not governments.
