US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Spain on Thursday, just two days after calling the NATO ally and European Union member a ‘terrible’ partner and threatening it with a trade ’embargo’ over its stance on Iran.
Speaking in a phone interview with The New York Post, Trump described Spain as a ‘loser’ and also said that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer should support Washington’s campaign against Iran ‘without question’.
‘We have a lot of winners, but Spain is a loser, and UK has been very disappointing,’ Trump said in the interview with The Post. ‘[Spain is] very hostile to NATO,’ he added. ALSO READ: Trump vows to ‘cut off all trade’ with Spain over Iran stance: ‘We don’t want anything to do with Spain’.
Trump’s remarks referred to a longstanding disagreement between Washington and Madrid over defence spending within the alliance. ‘They don’t pay their — they’re the only one that voted against the 5% payment, and they’re very hostile to everyone,’ he said, referring to NATO members’ pledge to contribute 5% of their GDP to defence. ‘Not a team player, and we’re not going to be a team player with Spain either.’ ALSO READ: Sánchez hits back at Trump’s latest criticism of Spain being ‘not a team player’.
Trump’s anger with Spain also stems from the country not allowing the United States to use the joint-use bases at Morón Air Base and Naval Station Rota for operations linked to the war in Iran. ALSO READ: US military aircraft leave Spain after government prohibits use of bases for Iran attacks.
Further diplomatic tension comes after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that Spain had agreed to cooperate with the US military. However, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares later ‘categorically’ rejected that claim in a radio interview, as the disagreement threatens to push relations between the two countries into uncharted territory. ALSO READ: Spain rejects ‘unilateral military action by US & Israel’, but also ‘actions of Iranian regime’.
‘The Spanish government’s position on the war in the Middle East, the bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed one iota,’ Albares said in remarks to the Spanish radio network Cadena SER.
Trump’s comments to the The New York Post indicate that the supposed cooperation referenced by the White House – presented as an attempt to calm tensions but later denied by Spain’s government – has not satisfied the volatile US president.
Earlier that same morning, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had already summarised his government’s stance in a brief official statement: ‘No to war.’ ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez responds to Donald Trump: ‘No to war’.
Albares said he had ‘no idea’ what Leavitt had been referring to. ‘There is a bilateral agreement, and outside the framework of that bilateral agreement there will be no use of Spanish sovereign bases. Any operation must take place within the framework of the United Nations,’ he added. ALSO READ: Spain to send frigate to Cyprus to ‘offer protection’ and ‘support any evacuation of civilians’.
Trump also used the conversation with the The New York Post to criticise Starmer, another ally with whom he has clashed this week over the military campaign that Washington launched jointly with Israel.
When asked whether he had privately called the British prime minister a ‘loser’, Trump repeated a phrase he has used before: ‘Well, he’s not Winston Churchill, let’s put it that way.’
‘It was very disappointing – his performance, having to do with our tremendous attack on a hostile nation,’ Trump said, referring to Iran. ‘He should be giving us, without question or hesitation, things like bases where we can use others.’
ALSO READ: Military aircraft carrying 172 Spanish citizens evacuated from Middle East lands in Madrid.
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Trump: ‘I have to be involved’ in picking Iran’s next leader – rules out Ali Khamenei son Mojtaba https://t.co/iLlyrsSTAV pic.twitter.com/0iISgTnqZq
— New York Post (@nypost) March 5, 2026
Donald Trump arremete de nuevo contra España y la llama “perdedora” en una entrevista con el diario neoyorquino The Post.
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) March 5, 2026
🎙️Más detalles, con @gr_angela #Canal24Horas
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