Speaking at a joint press conference with Nato<\/a> Secretary-General Mark Rutte<\/a> on day two of the military alliance\u2019s latest summit in Ankara, Turkey<\/a>, Trump was discussing the bilateral talks he had held with other nations.<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke to Italy\u2026 I didn\u2019t speak to Spain<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cSpain is a wasted cause. We don\u2019t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. I\u2019d like to cut it out. Spain is a terrible partner in Nato.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cCut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits. OK? We don\u2019t want anything to do\u2026 Watch them come running back. They\u2019ll come running back.\u201d <\/p>\n Pointing to Rutte, he added: \u201cThey treat this man terribly.\u201d<\/p>\n Returning to his frustrations with Spain later in the conversation, Trump said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to do any more trade with them\u2026 Don\u2019t even talk to them. They\u2019re hopeless. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re bad people because, you know, they have everybody else paying and working\u2026 In particular Spain. There are a couple of others but in particular Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n Rutte attempted to come to the country\u2019s defense but Trump remained silent and appeared unmoved by his arguments.<\/p>\n The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez<\/a> responded quickly to the president\u2019s comments with a statement that dismissed his remarks by saying they would be treated as \u201cbusiness as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n It added that Spain \u201chas strong social, cultural, and economic ties with the U.S., and we do not plan to change this.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has recently revived a gripe from his first term about Nato members not meeting their financial obligations to pay for the upkeep of the alliance. <\/p>\n Last year, the 32 allies \u2013 under pressure from the U.S. \u2013 agreed to adopt a new goal of spending 5 percent of their GDP on Nato by 2035, with 3.5 percent going towards defense and the remaining 1.5 percent on cyber security and infrastructure. <\/p>\n Only Spain refused, with Sanchez securing an exemption for his country that capped its contribution at 2.1 percent<\/a> of GDP, which he called \u201csufficient and realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly displeased, Trump made a similar attack at an Oval Office meeting with Rutte on June 24 in which he rebuked the U.S.\u2019s European allies for declining to support his war against Iran<\/a>, singling out Madrid for particular criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cSpain is a horror show,\u201d he said. \u201cSpain is terrible. I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK. We were disappointed with Germany and France. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re disappointed with most of them. They don\u2019t want to pay anything. They think they\u2019re in for a free ride. Spain is not a good group. Not a good group at all.\u201d<\/p>\n In his latest sitdown with Rutte, Trump also said the memorandum of understanding he had signed with Iran to end the conflict was now over, declaring that he no longer wanted to engage with Tehran either, saying its \u2060leadership consisted only of \u201csick people.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/download.-5..jpeg\")
President Donald Trump has called Spain a \u2018wasted cause\u2019 and a \u2018terrible partner in Nato\u2019 and announces a severing of economic ties with the country (AP)<\/p>\n![\"Secretary-General](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783506369_88_download...jpeg\")
Secretary-General Mark Rutte attempted to come to Spain\u2019s defense but Trump appeared unmoved by his arguments (AP)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-07T162042Z_540601007_RC229MAKM8B3_RTRMADP_3_NATO-SUMMIT.JPG\")
The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has already dismissed Trump\u2019s remarks, saying it would treat them as \u2018business as usual\u2019 (Reuters)<\/p>\n