‘Spain is a problem’: Trump lashes out over NATO contributions

Spain is emerging as the protagonist of the NATO summit following its prime minister’s refusal to accept raising military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, as Alliance leader Mark Rutte is asking all members to do. International media outlets are opening their reports from The Hague with Spain’s position, which views the spending request as “unreasonable,” and querying delegates from various countries about their views on the matter.

The most blunt statement came from U.S. President Donald Trump: “There’s a problem with Spain. Spain is not agreeing, which is very unfair to the rest of them, frankly,” he said on the plane taking him to The Hague on Tuesday. Shortly later, again from Air Force One, Trump published another, harsher message on his Truth Social platform, sharing a newspaper article claiming that “Spain threatens to derail the NATO summit” and showing a graph that lists Spain at the bottom of military spending. “The United States is at almost $1 trillion [in spending], this is incredible. Will be discussing it soon with members of NATO,” Trump posted.

Spanish government sources responded to the expected clash with the U.S. president, who is behind the move to raise military spending to 5% of GDP. “Of course we are a problem for Trump, because we are the only ones saying out loud that the emperor has no clothes, even though many others also think so, and we clearly oppose the absurd amount of spending he wants to impose on us.”

Sources close to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez noted that, whatever the U.S. leader may say, the agreement is already closed with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, with a very clear interpretation that the latter left in writing in a letter: Spain believes it can meet its commitments on military capabilities with 2.1% of GDP in defense spending, while Rutte believes it will need 3.5%, so it has been agreed that Spain will have the flexibility to study whether it can comply and this compliance will be reviewed in 2029. Furthermore, the Spanish government complains that Trump demands 5% from NATO allies but says the U.S. will not comply with that figure.

The Spanish government insists that the key is not to spend more, but to spend better, in a more coordinated and innovative way. And by 2029, when the review comes up, Trump should no longer be in the White House if the U.S. Constitution is upheld.

Among the other allies, no one wants a total clash with Spain, but many countries, especially those that feel the most threatened by Russia, are visibly upset. “We all have to have the same commitment, those of us closest to the Russian threat and those farther south, we all must do the same,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, who repeats this message in various media outlets.

Spain has found very little support—for the moment, only Belgium and Slovakia have explicitly sided with it while also rejecting the imposition of the 5% figure. A solid bloc is in favor of this enormous increase in military spending, led by Trump and Rutte, whose complete alignment with Washington was evidenced yesterday after Trump shared a private message sent to him by the NATO chief in which the latter made flattering statements such as: “You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 percent!”

Italy, which, according to Spain’s view, will never be able to meet this target with its current debt levels, which are much higher than Spain’s, has nevertheless also committed to 5%, leaving Spain very much alone. “France and Germany are not doing this because of the Russian threat, but to boost their own industry. Everyone knows that 5% is not necessary, but only Spain is saying it clearly,” said Spanish government sources.

For the sake of unity, which is the other major goal of the two-day gathering at The Hague—“it is our most powerful weapon,” Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof emphasized —most European leaders have avoided open criticism of the rift created by Sánchez. Except for Poland, whose Defense Minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, told the Financial Times that “making exceptions is detrimental to the unity of the Alliance.”

Speaking to a group of journalists upon his arrival in The Hague, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, the latest to join the defense club a year ago, also stressed the importance of more military spending. He also refuted the Spanish government’s argument that increasing spending to 5% would entail significant social cuts.

“It is wrong to say that we have to choose between spending money on defense or on welfare. If we want to protect the Nordic welfare model in our societies, we must also protect it in a literal, military sense,” Kristersson noted.

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