Trump attacks Spain at NATO summit, demands Greenland acquisition

US President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on Spain during the NATO Summit in Turkey, labeling the US partnership with the country a "wasted cause." Sitting alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump declared, "We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore." He accused Spain of being a poor NATO ally, stating, "They don’t participate. They don’t pay."

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We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits.

The president's ire was particularly directed at Spain's stance on the US war with Iran. Madrid had refused in March to permit joint military bases on its territory for operations against Iran and had openly opposed the war. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had described the initial US and Israeli strikes as "unjustified" and a "dangerous military intervention" outside international law. Trump also expressed dissatisfaction with Spain's refusal to increase defense spending to 5% of its GDP, a proposal Sanchez deemed "unreasonable and counterproductive."

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The girl that was meant to be the main girl, she was in some pageant thing. So we were about to shoot and the manager said they called from the pageant that she’s under contract and we can’t use her for the video.

Adding to his grievances, Trump accused Madrid of treating NATO Secretary-General Rutte "terribly" and urged the chief to stop supporting Spain. "I mean, you sort of automatically carry [Spain] because you’re protecting an area," the president remarked. However, following Trump's outburst, Prime Minister Sanchez maintained that relations between Spain and the US are "very positive." He also downplayed any tension, stating they had an informal chat about the World Cup and that the interaction was "all very friendly."

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We talked about the World Cup… there was no tension whatsoever. On the contrary, it was all very friendly.