During a visit to Turkey, President Trump met with NATO head Mark Rutte, and took questions from the press. During the discussion, President Trump took aim at NATO member Spain, and didn't pull any punches against the nation, calling them a 'terrible partner in NATO.'
.@POTUS: "Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore by the way... Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain." pic.twitter.com/3prqux6p54
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026
"I'm not happy with NATO because of what they did with Greenland," President Trump says, referring to his American national security concerns about the nation. "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, that's Iran. They were unwilling to help us."
"I spoke to Germany, I spoke to France, I spoke to the U.K., spoke to Italy," President Trump continued. "I didn't speak to Spain. Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way, I'd like you to cut it off.
"Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain."
President Trump then looked over to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and told them to cut off trade with Spain.
Trump tells Scott Bessent and Marco Rubio to cut off trade and diplomatic visits with Spain while the head of NATO watches uncomfortably.
— johnny maga (@johnnymaga) July 8, 2026
“I don’t want to do any more trade with them, alright? Immediately—don’t even talk to them.” 😭 pic.twitter.com/qEAO48xnJS
"Including visits, ok? We don't want anything to do ... watch them come running back," President Trump said. "They treat this man terribly," he added, referring to NATO head Mark Rutte. "And this man's a good man, too. Great man. They're lucky to have him."
"But Spain doesn't agree to anything."