Margarita Robles questions Trump's criticism of Spain: "He has never known the Spanish reality"

The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, responded this Thursday to the criticisms launched by Donald Trump against Spain during the NATO summit and attributed his statements to the "absolute ignorance" that, in her opinion, the US president has about the role the country plays within the Atlantic Alliance.

In an interview granted to 'Cadena SER', Robles downplayed the shift in discourse of the US president, who in just a few hours went from threatening Spain for its level of military investment to praising its commitment to NATO, and defended that the Executive will maintain its position unchanged on defense spending, making it clear that Spain will continue to allocate 2% of GDP to defense because it considers that this percentage allows it to meet the capabilities committed to NATO. "We will only invest 2%", she reiterated.

Robles also rejected reports pointing to new improvised investments in defense programs and explained that these acquisitions respond to an industrial and strategic planning that is designed years in advance. In this context, she pointed out that decisions in this area "are not like going to the supermarket", but rather obey the operational needs of the Armed Forces and long-term industrial projects.

The threat that unleashed Robles' response

Robles' statements come as a direct response to Trump's latest verbal attack against Spain, launched during a press conference with the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, within the framework of the Alliance summit held in Ankara. The US president even ordered his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, to completely cut off trade with Spain, which he described as a "terrible partner" within the organization. "They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want to have anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits," Trump said, going further by assuring that the country "is beyond remedy" and that its leaders are "bad people" who benefit economically "at the expense" of the United States.