Sánchez countered Trump’s pro-fossil fuel slogan, “Drill, baby, drill,” with his own: “Green, baby, green,” reflecting his government’s commitment to renewable energy. Madrid aims for 81 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, surpassing the EU average.
His administration strongly supports immigration on economic and humanitarian grounds and is in the process of legalizing the status of at least 500,000 unauthorized foreign workers.
“Without embracing migration, [Western countries] will face demographic decline that will hinder their economies and public services,” Sánchez wrote in the New York Times in February. In the op-ed, he criticized Trump’s migrant policies, highlighting the “illegal and cruel” measures in some countries.
The tension between Sánchez’s “leftist, feminist, green” coalition and Trump’s MAGA government is fueled by anti-Americanism in Spain.
Lluís Orriols, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University, noted that anti-American sentiment has long existed on the Spanish left, though Socialist governments seldom use it. An exception was in 2004 when Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq.
“The Socialists only occasionally harness this [anti-Americanism],” Orriols said. “And when they do, it often brings electoral advantages.”
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