US President Donald Trump has softened his tone on Spain just a day after describing Madrid as a “terrible NATO partner” and threatening to cut all trade ties.
Spain’s government says the change came after Trump learned how much Madrid has increased its spending on NATO in recent years.
The clash between the United States and Spain arose from the European country’s rigorous criticism of the US-Israel war against Iran and long-standing disputes over defense spending.
Trump called Spain a “wasted cause” and told reporters that the United States no longer wanted to do business with the country. He also ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to prepare for a commercial break.
Just hours later, on his flight home aboard Air Force One, Trump spoke about Spain but in a completely different tone.
Speaking to reporters, the 47th president said: “I had problems, and I still have them, but Spain has come back all the way and has been very generous.”
A spokesman for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Trump appeared to be referring to Spain meeting NATO’s old defense spending target of 2% of GDP.
Sánchez noted at the summit that Spain would reach that mark this year, after more than doubling its defense budget since 2017, from less than 1% of GDP to almost 33 billion euros, about $37.7 billion.
