Spain Rejects Trump’s ‘Blackmail and Bullying’ Amid NATO Defense Spending Dispute

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Spain‘s Health Minister, Mónica García, has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to discontinue trade with Spain by strongly condemning his approach. She emphasized that Madrid will not capitulate to “blackmail and threats,” particularly as tensions rise between Washington and the Spanish government over differing views on defense expenditures within NATO and policies concerning the Middle East.

García stated on her social media channels that Trump is attempting to penalize Spain for adhering to its sovereign positions. She further elaborated, “Trump describes Spain as a bad partner because it does not accept blackmail and threats. We are an independent and democratic country that defends peace.”

The Health Minister’s remarks came hours after Trump’s criticisms of Madrid, which were voiced during a NATO summit hosted in Ankara, Turkey. In that forum, he accused the Spanish government of failing to meet its commitments to the alliance.

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez downplayed the significance of the U.S. President’s statements, characterizing Trump’s threats as having become a “commonplace occurrence.” Sánchez asserted that relations between Spain and the United States are “excellent” across economic, political, cultural, and social levels, and indicated that his government would handle Trump’s remarks with “calmness and patience.”

This latest friction emerges amid an ongoing dispute between Washington and Madrid concerning military spending within NATO. According to NATO estimates for 2025, Spain is projected to allocate approximately 2 percent of its GDP to defense. This figure falls short of the commitment made by NATO members at the Ankara summit to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent by 2035. President Trump has continued to press NATO member states to raise defense expenditures to 5 percent of their GDP.

This is not the first instance of Trump targeting the Spanish government. In previous months, he had threatened to impose trade tariffs on Spain for refusing to allow the use of its military bases to support U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran.