Trump suggests Spain should be "expelled" from NATO

WashingtonUS President Donald Trump suggested this Thursday that "perhaps" Spain should be "expelled" from NATO for failing to meet its defense spending commitments. "We have a very good relationship with NATO, as you know. I asked that members pay 5% [of GDP], not 2%, and they all agreed unanimously [...]. But we had a payback, which is Spain," he said, sitting next to the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb. He then added: "You should call them and ask them why they're falling behind [...]. They have no excuse not to do it [pay more]. Honestly, maybe I should expel them."

Relations between Madrid and Washington are not going through their best period. At the NATO summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was the only leader who refused to comply with the new 5% of GDP target for defense spending imposed by Donald Trump. The PSOE leader signed the agreement, but said that Spain would only allocate funds to this area.2.1% of its GDP, which provoked Trump's anger, which threatened to apply trade retaliation.

The fine print of the signed pact dictated that of the 5% to which the allies committed, 3.5% must be allocated to conventional weapons, such as tanks, missiles, soldiers, or ammunition, while the remaining 1.5% should be allocated to security, where the fight against infrastructure. Sánchez left the summit explaining that Spain had only committed to reaching 2.1% of GDP, considering that with that percentage it could already achieve the Atlantic Alliance's military capability objectives. In fact, he assured that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had granted him special "flexibility" and that there was no need to reach 3.5%.

Sánchez's Flags in Foreign Policy

In the family photo taken by the allies at the summit, Sánchez appeared alone in a corner, and the Spanish government defended him as a way to confront Trump's abusive demands. Internationally, Sánchez has made the fight over defense spending and the leadership in the recognition of Palestine his two main themes.

By 2025, Spain has reached 2% defense spending relative to its gross domestic product, according to calculations made public by NATO based on figures compiled up to June 3 of this year. It was the first time that Spain had reached the target that the members of the Atlantic organization agreed upon in 2014, which was to be achieved over the following decade. In one year, Spain has increased its defense spending by 43.1%, going from €22.693 billion in 2024 to €33.123 billion this year.

This isn't the first time Washington has pressured Madrid to increase its defense spending to 5%. When Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last April to discuss trade relations between the two countries amid Trump's tariff war, the American already demanded that Spain further increase its defense contributions.