“We have one country that’s falling behind the entire alliance — that’s Spain,” Trump said at the White House on October 9, commenting on NATO members’ progress in boosting defense spending.
Under Trump’s pressure, all 32 NATO members agreed in June to significantly increase military spending over the next decade. The new framework allocates 3.5% of GDP to core defense and an additional 1.5% to broader areas such as infrastructure and cybersecurity, replacing the long-standing 2% target established in 2014.
Trump argued that Spain had “no excuse” for not meeting the new target. “That’s fine — if they don’t do it, we can just kick them out of NATO,” he declared during a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Spanish officials have not yet commented on the remarks. Spain currently ranks among NATO’s lowest defense spenders. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has repeatedly said the country has no intention of reaching the 5% threshold.
The U.S. president has previously threatened trade sanctions against Spain for opposing the new NATO defense targets aimed at strengthening the alliance’s capabilities.
In August, Spain’s Defense Ministry announced it would “no longer consider” purchasing U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighters, opting instead to evaluate the Eurofighter Typhoon and the European-developed Future Combat Air System (FCAS).