The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has once again made Spain the target of his attacks against European allies. In a meeting in the Oval Office with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Mark Rutte, the Republican called Spain a “disaster” and “terrible” due to the Government's refusal to facilitate the use of Spanish bases during the war against Iran.
Trump directly targeted the Government of Pedro Sánchez over two issues that have been straining relations with Washington for months. The first, the decision not to authorize a broader use of the Rota and Morón bases for US operations linked to Iran. The second, Spain's rejection of assuming the goal of 5% of GDP in military spending that the US president demands from Atlantic Alliance partners. “They don't want to pay anything; they think everything will be free for them,” he told Rutte.
The NATO Secretary General tried to de-escalate the clash without confronting Trump. Rutte argued that Europe has indeed served as a logistical platform for the United States and recalled that between 4,000 and 5,000 US planes took off from European bases during the military campaign against Iran. He also spoke of “isolated cases” to refer to countries that did not open their facilities to the Pentagon. Spain was, once again, in the crosshairs.
Trump also unleashed his anger against other allies before the NATO summit
Trump's verbal offensive comes on the eve of the next NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for July, and in the midst of a full-blown dispute over Europe's role in defense. Sánchez has tried to present himself over the last year as one of the European leaders most firm against Trumpism, especially after his refusal to involve Spain in the Iran war and his recovery of “no to war” as a political message. This position has given him an international profile, but it has also made him one of the US president's favorite targets.
Trump also lashed out at Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, reproaching them for not enthusiastically supporting his offensive against Tehran. Even so, the harshest attack was against Spain. The Republican insists on treating the Alliance as a relationship of personal obedience and again demanded “loyalty” from European partners, after boasting that the United States has “the most powerful army in the world.”
The phrase against Spain is not an isolated episode. Trump had already threatened trade retaliation, had accused Madrid of being a "terrible" ally and had suggested that Spain does not play as a team within NATO. Now he does it again in public, with Rutte sitting next to him and without a firm reply. The Ankara summit arrives with this open tension and with Spain situated, once again, in the pulse between European autonomy and the military demands of the White House.
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