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 switch came after Trump learned how much Madrid has increased its NATO spending in recent years.
The clash between the US and Spain stemmed from the European country’s harsh 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 did not want to do business with the country anymore. He also directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to prepare for a trade cutoff.
Just hours later, on his flight home aboard Air Force One, Trump spoke out about Spain, but in a completely different tone.
Speaking to reporters, the 47th POTUS said: “I had problems and I still do, but Spain has come back all the way and has been very generous.”
A spokesman for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Trump appeared to be referring to Spain meeting NATO’s older defense spending target of 2% of GDP.
Sanchez pointed out at the summit that Spain would hit that mark this year, having more than doubled its defense budget since 2017, from less than 1% of GDP to nearly 33 billion euros, about $37.7 billion.
