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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at the Spanish government over its defence spending within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), calling the country a "wasted cause" and saying that the United States would not be doing trade business with it "anymore".
Speaking to reporters during his meeting with NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Trump criticised Spain's role in the alliance, calling it a "terrible partner" and stating that he doesn't want to do anything with Spain. "Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way," Trump said. "Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain," he added. Spain remains the only NATO member to refuse to commit to the alliance's new defence spending target, which was announced last year at the 2025 Summit in The Hague, where the allies committed to a spending target of 5 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2035. Madrid secured an exemption allowing it to cap military spending at 2.1 per cent of its GDP instead of adopting the 5 per cent target. Spain is also among the alliance's lowest defence spenders as a share of GDP. The comments mark the latest in Trump's repeated criticism of European allies over what he describes as insufficient contributions to collective defence. Throughout his presidency, Trump has urged NATO members to increase military spending and has frequently accused several allies of relying disproportionately on the United States for security. Trump has also repeatedly targeted Spain in recent months, particularly over differences in foreign policy. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was among the few European leaders to publicly criticise the US military action against Iran, and his government's earlier decision to bar the use of US military facilities in southern Spain in support of the Iran strikes further strained ties with Washington. Continuing his criticism, Trump further stated that the Spanish government were "hopeless" and "bad people" and he wants "no business" with them. "Don't even talk to them. They're hopeless, bad people. They make so much money with us, and we're going to see that they make a lot less. I want no business with them," Trump stated. (ANI)
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