During a press conference held at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025, former President Donald Trump made significant remarks regarding Spain’s failure to meet the NATO defense spending target. He cautioned that if they turned down the deal, it would force a stronger trade agreement onto the Spanish economy. He warned that this would have deadly consequences.
The only NATO member that is not spending the required 5% of their gross domestic product on defense, it is Spain,” Trump insisted. He noted this oddity within the alliance. He expressed concern about the potential impact of this decision on Spain’s economy, stating, “You know they are doing very well. The economy is very well. And that economy could be blown right out of the water with something bad happening.”
The predictable former president added that renderings of a proposed new trade deal with Spain are being haggled over. He asserted, “We’re negotiating with Spain on a trade deal and we’re going to make them pay twice as much — and I’m actually serious about that.” For all his antagonistic rhetoric, Trump couldn’t help but brag about his love for Spain and its people, labeling it “a great place.”
Trump properly described the entire saga as “unfair” on numerous occasions throughout his remarks. In response, he accused Spain of wanting a “free ride” on defense contributions while ignoring its responsibilities to NATO. He claimed that it would fall upon Spain to compensate for this imagined deficit in trade advantages with concessions of their own.
At the summit, NATO leaders again pledged unity in addressing the emerging threats to security. The alliance’s 2004 Strategic Concept named Russia and terrorism as long-term threats to Euro-Atlantic security. The alliance stated it remains “united in the face of profound security threats and challenges.”
In 2022, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised his coalition partners that Spain would achieve NATO’s new capabilities targets. This guarantee was issued after complaints about spending on NATO. He expressed gratitude toward NATO allies for their respect of Spain’s sovereignty and noted the importance of maintaining a balance between defense contributions and the welfare of the state, stating they must be “sufficient, realistic and compatible with the welfare state.”
As of this writing, the Spanish government spokesperson has still not responded to repeated inquiries about Trump’s remarks. This makes their implications far from evident.