‘Throw Them Out of NATO’: Trump Takes Aim at Spain Over Military Spending
US President Donald Trump criticizes Spain for low military spending, calling it a “laggard” and suggesting it could be expelled from NATO amid ongoing defence budget disputes.
US President Donald Trump speaks on NATO defence spending, targeting Spain as a “laggard” during a meeting at the White House.
US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised Spain, suggesting that the country should be expelled from NATO for failing to meet defence spending targets.
Speaking in the Oval Office while meeting Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Trump called Spain a “laggard” for not committing to spend 5% of its GDP on the military, a goal he strongly advocated for all NATO members. “They have no excuse not to do this,” Trump said. “Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly.”
Spain is the only NATO member among 32 countries that refused to increase spending to 5% of GDP. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez secured a last-minute exemption, stating that Spain will only spend around 2.1%, which he described as “sufficient and realistic.”
In response, Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles defended the country’s commitment to NATO, saying, “We are not worried. Spain is one of the committed and loyal allies.”
Trump has long pushed for higher military contributions from NATO members, but Spain’s exemption at the June summit put it at odds with the US president’s expectations. Despite lower spending, Spain participates actively in NATO missions across Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and has provided both military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
The dispute highlights the ongoing tension within NATO over defence budgets and burden-sharing among member states.
