Trump says Spain 'fully redeemed' after agreeing to significant NATO payment

Donald Trump declared Spain had "fully redeemed itself" after agreeing to a significant payment to NATO, a move he praised following days of tension and criticism. The U.S. president made the remarks aboard Air Force One while returning from Ankara, where he had strongly rebuked the European nation.

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I must say that I had problems with Spain, and I still do, but today Spain fully redeemed itself. Spain was very generous today... they agreed to an important payment request, and if they hadn't, we wouldn't even have talked to them.

Trump had previously stated Spain "behaved very badly" for not backing U.S. actions against Iran. He highlighted the "tremendous unity" at the NATO summit but did not specify the "important payment request" Spain had agreed to. Before Trump's comments, disagreements between Washington and Madrid centered on Spain's commitment to spending 5% of its GDP on defense, a target the Spanish government deemed unnecessary for meeting NATO's military requirements.

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Spain behaved very badly.

The U.S. leader's comments came during a press conference where he was questioned about his criticisms of Spain and other allies like Italy and the United Kingdom for not supporting U.S. strikes against Tehran. He was also asked if he would support these countries in case of an attack, as stipulated by the Alliance's collective defense clause.

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tremendous unity