On Monday, I wrote about Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to block the U.S. from using jointly operated military bases on its territory for strikes on Iran. President Donald Trump wasted no time responding forcefully, saying Tuesday that the U.S. is going “to cut off all trade” with Spain.
Trump made the comments from the White House during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He noted that some European nations have been helpful to the U.S. regarding Iran, saying Germany has been “great.” He also praised NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, calling him “fantastic.” Then he spoke directly about Spain:
Spain has been terrible. In fact I told Scott [likely Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent] to cut off all dealings with Spain. First of all, it started when every European nation at my request paid 5% which they should be doing, and everybody was enthusiastic about it, Germany, everybody, and Spain didn’t do it. And now Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases.
That’s alright, we can use their base if we want we can just fly in and use it, nobody’s gonna tell us not to use it.
As I wrote on Monday, Sánchez has consistently been hostile to actions taken by Israel and the United States, especially when the two countries confront the worst dictatorships and terror groups in the world. He criticized the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January and has claimed that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. He also opposed the U.S.-Israeli joint strikes on Iran, saying: “We reject the unilateral military action by the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order.”
Related: Is It Time to Offer Spain’s Jews Asylum?
This is not the first time Trump has asserted his power over Sánchez. At a G20 summit session in Osaka, Japan, during his first term in 2019, Trump appeared to mock Sánchez, motioning for him to sit.
In an even stronger display of power, this year, Trump blocked Spain from even participating in preparations for the G-20.
Related: The New Reconquest: Spain’s Answer to Collapse
In September 2025, after Sánchez’s government limited access to Spanish ports and airspace to ships and planes carrying weapons for Israel, Trump’s State Department minced no words. A State Department spokesperson said, “It is deeply concerning that Spain, a NATO member, has chosen to potentially limit US operations and to turn its back on Israel on the same day six individuals were killed in Jerusalem. These measures embolden terrorists.”
In October 2025, Trump suggested that Spain be expelled from NATO for not increasing its defense spending to 5%.
We had one laggard. It was Spain—Spain. You have to call them. You have to call them and find why they are a laggard. And they’re doing well, too, and you know, because of a lot of the things we’ve done. They’re doing fine. They have no excuse not to do this. But that’s all right. Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly.
Unfortunately for Spaniards, their country could soon be doing less “fine” economically if Trump follows through on cutting trade. But perhaps that’s for the best — if Spaniards finally hold their joke of a prime minister accountable and boot him from office, they might at last lift the anti-Western darkness that has descended over their great nation.
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