Trump Suggests Spain‘s NATO Membership Could Be at Risk Over Defense Spending
WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his demand for increased defense spending from NATO allies and suggested Spain could face expulsion from the alliance if it doesn’t meet his expectations. The remarks came during a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb at the White House, despite the primary focus of the discussion being a $6.1 billion deal for finland to purchase 11 icebreaker ships from the United States.
The escalating tension stems from Trump’s call for NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP), a notable increase from the previously agreed-upon 2%. Spain announced prior to the NATO Summit in The Hague in June that it would not comply with the 5% request.
“As you know, I asked them to pay 5 percent, not 2 percent. Most countries accepted this, but one country remained behind: Spain,” Trump stated. “Ask them why Spain acted like this, because their economy is in good shape. They have no excuse.”
During the meeting with Stubb, trump escalated the rhetoric, stating, ”They’re doing pretty well, thanks to a lot of the things we’ve done. They have no reason not to do it. But that’s okay, maybe they should be kicked out of NATO.”
trump has consistently argued that European countries should no longer rely on U.S. military power and should bear a greater share of their own defense costs.
The icebreaker deal, valued at approximately $6.1 billion (5.27 billion euros), will see the U.S. deliver the first of the 11 medium-sized ships to Finland by 2028. The agreement is strategically important for Finland, which shares a long land border with Russia and is seeking to bolster its security following russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting concluded with a discussion regarding Trump’s potential candidacy for the Nobel peace Prize. trump highlighted his role in brokering several peace deals, stating, “I made seven deals, now the eighth is coming. I ended wars that lasted 31, 34, 35 and 10 years. but I didn’t do it for the nobel; I saved a lot of lives.”
Stubb acknowledged the Nobel Committee’s decision-making process, noting that resolving the conflicts in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine would remove potential obstacles to Trump receiving the award.
Four U.S. presidents – Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy carter, and Barack Obama – have previously been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. A win for Trump would make him the first republican president to receive the prize in over a century.
