Trump halts trade with Spain, calls NATO ally a ‘terrible partner’ at summit
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump halts trade with Spain, calls NATO ally a ‘terrible partner’ at summit")
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (L) and US President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, on July 8, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
Donald Trump ordered a halt to trade with Spain, called it a "terrible partner," and reignited the Greenland dispute during the NATO summit, drawing sharp reactions.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered a halt to the overall trade with NATO ally Spain, calling it a “terrible partner”. During the NATO summit, as European leaders were trying to put a lid on the conflict within the military alliance, Trump unleashed on NATO for getting a “free ride”. Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said that he has no business to be done with Spain. He further annoyed the NATO leaders by once again invoking Greenland.
"Spain doesn't agree to anything, and you shouldn't carry them," Trump told Rutte, who tried to ease the tension, suggesting that Spain “made a huge step last year” in increasing the budget to 2 per cent. He also added that "there are still issues we have to solve".
"Spain is a wasted cause. I don't want to do any trade with them, alright?" said Trump while turning to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who responded, "Yes, Sir!" Trump then continued, "Take it immediately. Don't even talk to them. They're hopeless. They're bad people ... They make so much money with us, and we're going to see that they make a lot less."
The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a statement that it was treating Trump's statements as "business as usual" and did not intend to change the "excellent" relations it enjoyed with Washington. It also pointed out that Spain runs a trade deficit with the US, and economic ties were forged by private companies rather than governments. It also said that European Union rules require trade negotiations to be conducted as a single bloc.
Spain’s health minister, Mónica García, said on Wednesday that President Trump had called the country a “terrible partner” because Spain “does not accept blackmail or threats.” “We are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace,” García said, adding, “What is terrible is confusing diplomacy with bullying.”
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Trump invokes Greenland again to irk Europeans
Trump also attacked NATO for its role, or lack of it, in the Iran war, and brought up Greenland, which is bound to agitate the Europeans. “I’m not happy with NATO because of what they did with Greenland, and I’m not happy with NATO because of the fact that they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror,” he told reporters, standing alongside the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte. “That’s Iran.”
Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said that the country would defend “every inch” of its territory and reiterated that Greenland was not for sale. She said, “We will defend the kingdom of Denmark,” adding, “We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory.”
