ANKARA.- The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has charged again against Spain, saying that he will “completely” stop bilateral trade and that it is “a lost cause,” as well as “a terrible partner in NATO” for refusing to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP.
“Spain is a lost cause. By the way, we no longer want to do any commercial business with Spain. I want them to cut it off. Spain is a terrible ally in NATO. They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want to know anything about Spain. Cut all trade with Spain, please, including visits,” Trump said during a press conference alongside Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte.
While the Spanish government responded: “The trade relationship is with the European Union as a whole and, therefore, cannot be singled out with any member state.”
Trump has expressed his anger with several allies, alleging that they have little commitment to NATO, although he especially singled out Spain because “they are hostile,” “they don’t agree with anything” and they say “openly” that they are not going to increase their defense investment beyond 2%.
This was expressed during the second day of the Atlantic Alliance summit in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, where last night he attended a gala dinner organized by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and where he spoke with several leaders, including the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
“I spoke with Italy. I spoke with… I did not speak with Spain. Spain is a lost cause. By the way, we no longer want to do any more commercial business with Spain. I want them to cut it off,” he explained when asked about the development of the dinner and whether he spoke with some of the heads of government whom he criticized hours before.
Trump: “In Spain they are bad people”
The tenant of the White House also stated that in Spain “they are bad people”, because “they have everyone else paying and working”, and warned that “let’s see how hostile they continue to be” when they knock on the door of Washington and say “please, please, we want to trade with you, sir. We want to trade with you, sir.”
“We don’t have to trade with them. I don’t want to do more trade with them. Okay? Cut it off immediately. Don’t even talk to them. They have no choice (…) They earn a lot of money with us, and we are going to make them earn much less. I don’t want to do business with them,” he continued in his attack against Spain
He accused the Government of “treating NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte terribly,” who “is a good man” and “a great leader,” and that “they are lucky” in the Alliance to have him as Secretary General.
In response, Rutte defended Spain, highlighting that it “took a big step” from the previous summit in The Hague until now, since it finally exceeded the 2% limit on strictly military investment.
“You have mentioned Spain, you have even managed to get Spain to pay 2%. They have taken a big step last year, so there are still problems to be resolved, but hey, even with Spain, I would highlight that they have reached 2%.”
Cordial treatment between Trump and Sánchez
The head of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, stated this Wednesday that he held a conversation in Ankara “without tension” and “with absolute and total cordiality” with Donald Trump after the new criticism of Spain from the president of the United States, which he claimed to receive “calmly and patiently.”
At the press conference at the end of the NATO summit, Sánchez revealed that conversation with Trump hours after he assured that Spain is “a lost cause”, “it has no remedy, they are bad people”, and threatened to cut off all commercial relations.
But despite these demonstrations, Sánchez said that there were only “good words and kindness” in his colloquial conversation with Trump, in which he said they talked about the Soccer World Cup being held in the United States and other informal issues.
Among them he revealed that they talked about golf, a sport of which he recalled that the president of the United States is very fond of.
The talk, he explained, took place when they met while waiting to pose for the family photo at the Atlantic Alliance summit with the rest of the leaders.
The head of the Spanish Executive said that he learned of the US president’s criticism of Spain through the media, indicating that at no time was he made directly to him.
These attacks, he assured, are received “calmly and patiently” and also “with a certain normality.” He highlighted that, beyond the statements, there are very positive bilateral relations between Spain and the United States.
