Spain brushes off Donald Trump’s remarks: Relations with the US remain excellent

The Spanish government has reacted to statements by US President Donald Trump, who criticized Madrid over its position on NATO’s goal of increasing defense spending.

According to sources in the Spanish executive, cited by the newspaper El País and public broadcaster TVE, the comments made by Trump during the NATO summit in Ankara were received by Madrid “calmly and normally.”

The same sources from the Spanish government said that “Spain maintains an excellent social, cultural and economic relationship with the United States, and our goal is for that not to change.”

Trump once again described Spain as a “terrible partner” in the Atlantic Alliance, linking that assessment to its refusal to raise military spending to 5% of Gross Domestic Product by 2035.

The US president has repeatedly insisted that NATO member states make a greater financial contribution to collective defense, while his criticism has been directed particularly at countries that do not meet the alliance’s new targets.

On the other hand, Spain has maintained a more cautious approach to this target, stressing that increased spending must proceed in line with the country’s economic and social priorities.