Trump slams Spain, says NATO should ‘throw them out’

 

President Donald Trump reignited tensions within NATO on Thursday, blasting Spain for refusing to meet his demand that member states spend 5% of GDP on defense — more than double the current alliance target. “Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

 

The remark followed months of friction after Spain successfully pushed for an exemption at June’s NATO summit, keeping its defense spending near 2% of GDP. Trump, who has long accused European allies of “free-riding” on U.S. protection, singled out Madrid as the only “laggard” blocking his push for higher funding.

 

“They have no excuse,” Trump said, warning that Spain’s resistance could have economic consequences. He previously labeled the country’s stance “hostile,” threatening to impose new tariffs and claiming Spain’s economy “could be blown right out of the water.”

 

The exchange came during what was otherwise a warm meeting with Stubb and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, where Trump praised Finland’s military and reaffirmed his commitment to defend NATO members if attacked. When asked whether he would respond to a Russian invasion of Finland, Trump replied, “I would. Yes, I would… vigorously.”

 

Spanish EF18A Hornet

 

His supportive tone toward Finland contrasted sharply with his scathing rhetoric toward Spain, a NATO member since 1982. No country has ever been expelled from the alliance, but Trump’s comments highlight growing divisions over Europe’s defense spending and Washington’s future role in NATO.

 

Trump’s call for a 5% GDP commitment — far above the alliance’s official target — has unsettled European governments and renewed concerns that U.S. security guarantees could become conditional on financial compliance.

 

Key Takeaways:

• Trump urges NATO to “throw out Spain” for low defense spending.

• Spain remains the only holdout against Trump’s 5% GDP target.

• Remarks deepen fears of U.S.–Europe rift over alliance funding.

 

Original source Al Jazeera

 

It may come as a surprise to Trump , but the USA id still only one part of NATO.

 

It may also come as a surprise to Trump that he is only the president of the 

USA. and NOT the ruler of Spain, nor of ANY other country in the world.

Spain: "Yeah, we're not going to attacked by Portugal.  Good luck, dummy."

Trump probably thinks Spaniards are Mexicans.

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

It may also come as a surprise to Trump that he is only the president of the 

USA.

 

The USA have thought they are the masters of the Universe since 

the end of WWII, strutting around the world with 700 military bases 

enforcing the 'rules based world order' 

( their rules but ignored by them)

regime change at will, illegal sanctions, UN veto's...

perhaps now the 'rest of the world' has seen 

the light finally, voted with their feet joined a new

'coalition of the willing'    willing that they are no longer dependant or

kow towing to 'Uncle Sam'

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Trump probably thinks Spaniards are Mexicans.

 

 No more than you thinking Trump is a fascist.

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Trump probably thinks Spaniards are Mexicans.

"Well they speak Mexican" 🤣🤣

39 minutes ago, blaze master said:

 

 No more than you thinking Trump is a fascist.

 

  Well, he speaks fascist.

12 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

 

  Well, he speaks fascist.

 

Not.

Spain does not fund its military properly? Really? After such an impressive display defending the naval flotilla of Greta Thunberg, that's hard to believe.

 

I bet Greta would support a slight increase. So she can get maybe get 2 or 3 naval escorts that actually make a difference.

Well done Spain...don't give in those bullies of NATO or America. 

 

Europe is entirely at fault for not developping proper diplomacy with Russia and not depending solely on the USA. Diplomacy can solve wars just as minding one's own business can. Europe is getting far to involved in ukraine that remains a historical issue between Russia and Ukraine. The common denominator in this war is that both sides are as corrupt...

3 hours ago, TheAppletons said:

Spain: "Yeah, we're not going to attacked by Portugal.  Good luck, dummy."

 

Not going to be attacked by Russia either.

 

The major threat to Europe is the wave of economic migrants unleashed by........NATO..........regime change operations.

 

That's if you ignore US/UK blowing up Nordstream to ensure Europe became shackled to overpriced 'merkan LNG. 

4 hours ago, billd766 said:

It may come as a surprise to Trump , but the USA id still only one part of NATO.

 

It may also come as a surprise to Trump that he is only the president of the 

USA. and NOT the ruler of Spain, nor of ANY other country in the world.

 

What''s your point? The USA is one of the pillars of NATO, and its position is shared by other members of NATO such as Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, Estonia etc. Some countries have benefited from the presence of NATA resources and have not contributed fairly. Spain is one of them.  NATO isn't just a military organization. Its ships and aircraft are an integral part of national security for member nations. It is NATO member aircraft from bases in Italy and France, often including US aircraft who are patrolling the coasts of Spain.  Operation Sea Guardian has deployed multiple  NATO member vessels that have directly benefited Spain. Why should Estonia, Romania, Sweden, Denmark Finland and others do that if Spain won't contribute sufficiently to help them?

 

Even countries who had lower  funding rates have increased their spending. Canada had a defense budget of 1. 27% of GDP in 2021.  It has been increasing its budget and is now at  2% for 2025-2026. It will be 5% by 2035 and has already committed funding. Spain was at 1.03% and will be at 1.28% for the same period and has refused to commit additional funds.Why should the other member states  carry a deadbeat member? It is not fair to them. Spain wants a free ride. Its NATO mission contributions have historically been bare bones. It's the old mentality of when Spain enslaved the native peoples of the Americas and looted their resources. They believe that they are too good and important to do work and that others should do it for them.

 

1 hour ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Not going to be attacked by Russia either.

 

The major threat to Europe is the wave of economic migrants unleashed by........NATO..........regime change operations.

 

That's if you ignore US/UK blowing up Nordstream to ensure Europe became shackled to overpriced 'merkan LNG. 

The largest source of migrants has been Syria, when 14 million refugees were created by the Syrian civil war. 

NATO did not force a regime change there and for the most part stayed out of the conflict. It was Russia and Hezbollah with iran who forced millions of people out of Syria.

The economic migrants coming from Africa are not because of  NATO. Those are muslim militias creating the refugee crisis in Darfur. It is Iran and the Houthis creating refugees in Yemen. It is Chinese and Russian backed factions in the Congo who are fighting with each other for control of mineral resources. NATO has nothing to do with the failed economic policies of much of Africa.

As a side note

White House Lashes Out After Trump Doesn’t Win Nobel—But Winner Thanks Him

White House Accuses Nobel Committee Of Playing Politics After Trump Bid Fails

3 hours ago, Cameroni said:

Spain does not fund its military properly? Really? After such an impressive display defending the naval flotilla of Greta Thunberg, that's hard to believe.

 

I bet Greta would support a slight increase. So she can get maybe get 2 or 3 naval escorts that actually make a difference.

Spain provided support by way of navigation systems, and search and rescue capabilities, the same as it does for other marine vessels. Spain and Italy each provided one military vessel to escort the flotilla. One of the Spanish vessel Furor's tasks was to intercept drones that might target the flotilla. It did not intercept any drones,nor come in contact with any Israeli naval vessels. What more did you expect Spain to do?

 

 

 

 

Flotilla vessels were intercepted in close proximity to the shoreline.  For example, Marinette, the largest boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla, that the Furor was escorting  was intercepted at 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza (as reported by the boat itself and Al Jazeera).

Spain regularly intercepts, boards, searches and seizes vessels that are within 200 nautical miles of its shore. The Furor was not going to do anything as Israel was  enforcing a blockade as part of its war with Gaza. Israel had stated that the aid vessel would dock at Ashkelon, where the aid would be verified and then shipped to Gaza by vehicle. International representatives  could observe the process.  As such, Israel dd not violate any international law and Spain could not legally intervene.

 

There were no cargo capable docks at Gaza that were capable of unloading cargo from the flotilla. according to the humanitarian supporters of Hamas there are no heavy vehicles left in Gaza capable of moving cargo, and the few vehicles that are available, have no fuel. therefore, the  "humanitarian aid" would not have been  able to be unloaded, let alone distributed in Gaza. The flotilla was a public relations exercise.

 

Why would Spain care? Russia's got to go through a lot of countries to get there. 

9 hours ago, gargamon said:

Why would Spain care? Russia's got to go through a lot of countries to get there. 

 

If you look at your history, Spain has also been invaded (and conquered, I may add) from the south.

 

And they're not exactly militarily (or economically) strong nowadays.

 

14 hours ago, blaze master said:

 

 No more than you thinking Trump is a fascist.

He's a pathetic man baby, I know that. Doesn't deserve a prize and didn't get one. I expect he'll be whining about that for weeks. No class whatsoever, just like the electorate.

12 hours ago, still kicking said:

As a side note

White House Lashes Out After Trump Doesn’t Win Nobel—But Winner Thanks Him

White House Accuses Nobel Committee Of Playing Politics After Trump Bid Fails

That is the best description of a winner who is gracious and polite enough to speak kindly of someone who did not win.

 

And then there is the loser, Trump, who is neither gracious nor polite, but is still a loser.

 

THAT is the difference.

Spain has decided to ally itself with China and serve as China's backdoor into disrupting the EU and devastating its manufacturing base. The Communists are part of Pedro Sanchez' government.

On 10/10/2025 at 4:15 AM, billd766 said:

It may come as a surprise to Trump , but the USA id still only one part of NATO.

 

It may also come as a surprise to Trump that he is only the president of the 

USA. and NOT the ruler of Spain, nor of ANY other country in the world.

I think that’s part of the reason for his tariffs try to run other countries + adding a sales tax levied on us Americans to line the coffers of his cronies.