Trump Praises Finland, Slams Spain, Floats Throwing Madrid Out of NATO

What was supposed to be a polite Oval Office chat about Finland’s plan to buy American icebreaker ships quickly turned into a NATO roast, courtesy of Donald Trump.

As the U.S. president welcomed Finland’s President Alexander Stubb to Washington on Thursday, he couldn’t resist revisiting one of his favourite topics: NATO spending, and one of his least favourite members: Spain.

“At the summit, I asked for 5 percent, not 2 percent,” Trump said, referring to his push for allies to dramatically boost defence budgets. “And most people thought that was not gonna happen. But it happened, virtually unanimously. We had one laggard. It was Spain. Spain!”

Then came the kicker:

“You have to call them and find out why they’re a laggard,” he told reporters, adding with a grin, “Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly.”

That offhand jab was a sharp contrast to Trump’s warm words for Finland, NATO’s newest member, alongside Sweden, which joined in 2023. Sitting beside Stubb and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Trump praised Finland’s armed forces as “one of the best” and said he would defend the country “vigorously” if Russia ever attacked.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Trump added. “Putin’s not going to do that. But yes, they’re a member of NATO, and I would defend them.”

Finland shares an 840-mile border with Russia and closed it in 2024 amid rising tensions. Trump’s words will likely reassure Helsinki, even as they further rattle Madrid.

After Spain pushed back against Trump’s 5 percent demand at June’s NATO summit, he branded the country “hostile,” accusing it of freeloading and threatening to hit its economy with new tariffs.

“That economy could be blown right out of the water,” Trump warned at the time.

Spain has been a NATO member since 1982, and while Trump’s “throw them out” line may sound like bluster, it highlights his growing frustration with allies he sees as not paying their share.