Trump orders to cut trade with Spain: "It's a lost cause, they are bad people"

Special envoy to Ankara (Turkey)Donald Trump has once again set the NATO summit ablaze. Upon arriving at the meeting of leaders in Ankara, the President of the United States has lashed out indiscriminately at his allies, especially Spain, and has ordered the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, to cut off trade and bilateral relations with the Spanish state.

"Spain is a lost cause. We no longer want to do any commercial business with Spain. By the way, I would like, [Bessent], for you to cut it off. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits," said the President of the United States, who also described the citizens of the Spanish state as "bad people."

These statements by Trump come after Pedro Sánchez criticized the attack by the United States and Israel against Iran, which led to the start of the war in the Middle East. La Moncloa also refused to allow U.S. troops to use military bases located on Spanish territory and is the only allied government that openly opposes assuming the increase in military spending demanded by the White House: 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.

Denmark maintains its standoff with Trump

The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has stood her ground against the United States. After US President Donald Trump reiterated his threat against Greenland this Tuesday, the Danish leader replied that her country is prepared to "defend every inch" of the Arctic island. "Greenland, of course, is not for sale. We hope everyone, including all allies, respects the Greenlandic people and their right to self-determination," the social democratic leader remarked at the entrance to the NATO summit this Wednesday in Ankara (Turkey).

The tone of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was very different. He almost ignored that the President of the United States had once again targeted Greenland and limited himself to responding that it is an issue he already discussed and resolved at the Davos Forum at the beginning of the year, when Trump stopped —at least temporarily— threatening to invade the Arctic island. Thus, the leader of the Atlantic Alliance once again downplayed the fact that one ally of the organization is threatening the sovereignty of another ally and even defended that the New York magnate "is right when he says that China and Russia are gaining access to the Arctic." "It is crucial that, as an alliance, and this is what we agreed on in Davos, we work together to ensure that this does not happen," Rutte added.

Regarding the rest of the leaders, the vast majority ignored Trump's new threats and avoided discussing Greenland. Only a few leaders, such as those from Ireland, Iceland, Portugal, Latvia, and Finland, showed their solidarity with Frederiksen, and recalled that the Arctic island is Danish territory.

NATO justifies Trump's attacks on Iran

The NATO leader has justified the Pentagon's "absolutely necessary" attacks against Iran and stressed that it is "fundamental" for US troops to "react firmly" if Iran breaks the ceasefire. In fact, Rutte announced in statements to the media before the leaders' meeting that he will put the war in Iran on the table, although the rest of the allies flatly refuse to get involved in the conflict initiated by Trump and the Atlantic Alliance is a defensive and not offensive military understanding.

These statements come after the President of the United States assured this Tuesday that "Greenland should be under the control of the United States and not Denmark". And, in fact, he pointed out that his "disappointment" with NATO began as a result of the clash he had at the beginning of the year with European allies when he threatened to invade the Arctic island, even though he has constantly humiliated and threatened European leaders from the moment he regained the White House.

The New York magnate linked the US military withdrawal from Europe to Greenland's sovereignty and stated that he "began to question" the resources allocated to European defense when European leaders flatly refused to cede the island. "We don't need to make this expense," Trump said he thought at the time. Furthermore, the far-right leader stated that "Europe is a very different place than it was twenty years ago" due to immigration and that, therefore, it makes sense to "withdraw all US soldiers" from the European continent. "If you don't manage immigration well, there will no longer be the Europe we know," he added.