Trump Accuses Spain of Jeopardizing NATO Summit

Trump criticizes Spain over its military spending

NATO under pressure from demands

Sánchez defends 2.1%

President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on Spain via his social network, Truth Social.

In a post, he shared a graphic titled: “Spain Threatens to Derail the NATO Summit.”

The image, created by the London-based agency Graphic News, compares defense spending among NATO member states.

Trump harshly criticized Spain for refusing to allocate 5% of its GDP to defense.

Trump Issues Direct Warning to Spain

Trump Accuses Spain of Jeopardizing NATO Summit – WASHINGTON (United States), 18/06/2025.- US PHOTO: EFE/EPA/KEN CEDENO / POOL

“U.S. defense spending has reached nearly a trillion dollars – This is incredible. We will be addressing this soon with NATO members,” Trump wrote.

According to the graphic, Spain is resisting Trump’s demand to increase military spending, which he claims threatens the NATO summit’s stability.

The infographic shows the faces of Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Spanish President Pedro Sánchez.

Trump is pictured with the caption: “Threatens to withdraw protection from allies who don’t commit to 5% defense spending.”

Pedro Sánchez, on the other hand, argues that such a goal “is incompatible with the welfare state” in Spain.

Mark Rutte suggests a middle ground: “Increase spending to 3.5% and allocate another 1.5% to broader security expenditures.”

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The post comes at a tense moment for the Atlantic Alliance.

Trump accuses Spanin, as he warned from Air Force One that “Spain is a problem” within NATO.

“There’s always a problem with Spain. Spain disagrees. Which is very unfair to everyone else,” he said.

The U.S. president has repeatedly insisted, since his first term, that all member states contribute more to joint defense funding.

Last Sunday, Pedro Sánchez announced an agreement with Rutte, NATO Secretary General, not to reach the demanded 5% of military spending.

Instead, Spain committed to contributing 2.1% of its GDP.

“No more, no less,” Sánchez declared in an official statement.

According to sources in the Spanish government, the agreement is backed by Rutte himself as NATO Secretary General.

However, Trump disclosed private messages from Rutte that were allegedly sent to him recently.

In those messages, Rutte congratulates Trump for his “action in Iran” and assures him that all member states “have signed the 5 percent commitment.”

This casts doubt on the supposed support for Spain’s exception.

U.S. pressure is mounting ahead of the summit, which aims to maintain unity amid new geopolitical threats.

While internal agreements between European leaders may ease tensions, Trump appears determined to make military spending a turning point in his relationship with Europe.

The dispute over defense budgets once again puts Spain in the eye of the storm within NATO, as Donald Trump uses his platform to make it clear there will be no leniency for those he believes are shirking their responsibilities.

Do you think Spain should increase its military spending to avoid tensions with the U.S. within NATO?

SOURCE: EFE