Spain rejects Trump claim it flipped on defense spending

The Spanish government on Friday rejected President Donald Trump's assertion that the country had bowed to American demands to boost defense spending.

Trump, this week, threatened to cut off trade with Spain, citing Madrid's unwillingness to meet NATO spending targets. He later stated that Spain "came back all the way" in the wake of the threat.

But Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares appeared confused on Friday, saying "only he can explain," referring to what Trump actually meant, Politico reported. He further indicated that Madrid had officially opted to assume Trump had meant that Spain complied with the original 2% defense spending target, rather than the proposed 5%.

"No, we understand [Trump] was referring to the data showing we've satisfactorily complied with the 2 percent target," he added.

The incident is not the first time the Trump administration expressed frustration with Spain and claimed they had reversed their policies to comply with his wishes. At the start of the Iran war, for instance, Trump had fumed over Spain's unwillingness to allow the U.S. to use its bases for the conflict.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, shortly after, said Spain had reversed its policy, which Madrid then denied.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.