“I had issues with Spain, but they’ve resolved them today. Spain was very generous, as I told them I’d stop trading,” Trump said aboard Air Force One, noting that Spain honored a payment request.
Trump’s remarks caused confusion in Madrid.
After the comments surfaced Thursday, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told RTVE he was unsure what Trump referred to, stating, “Only he can explain.”
Spanish officials assumed Trump meant the country’s efforts to fulfill military expenditure commitments. A government spokesperson told POLITICO, “No additional expenditures; we believe he referred to meeting the 2 percent target.”
The official noted Spain has tripled defense spending since 2018, which NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte acknowledged while highlighting Spain’s troop contributions to NATO missions.
As of June 2026, Spain deploys the most troops on NATO’s eastern flank and leads strategic missions, including the maritime component of the Allied Reaction Force and the Multinational Brigade in Slovakia.













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