Trump turns on Spain and demands Greenland as NATO summit exposes cracks

ANKARA — President Donald Trump threw a summit of NATO leaders into disarray on Wednesday as he demanded the United States cut trade ties with Spain and made renewed claims on Greenland, irking another NATO ally Denmark.

Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, Trump called Madrid a “terrible partner” in NATO as he railed against allies for not supporting the war on Iran and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all trade with Spain.

Trump’s remarks, also declaring the fragile ceasefire with Iran to be over, overshadowed a summit that European leaders had hoped would project unity and support for Ukraine and cap a series of rows that have threatened to tear the military alliance apart.

Trump spoke alongside NATO Secretary Mark Rutte, who has assiduously tried to assuage his concerns over defense spending, Iran and Greenland, while lavishing praise on the president for bringing such issues to the fore.

They also undercut the carefully crafted pre-summit messaging that European NATO countries had stepped up to the plate on military spending, which saw at least $50 billion in defense initiatives unveiled on Tuesday.

Washington and Madrid have been at loggerheads, with Spain explicitly rejecting Trump’s demands for European countries to sharply increase military spending and pay for their own defense. Madrid’s Socialist leadership has also refused to let the U.S. use its airspace or bases on its territory for the Iran war.

“Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” Trump said. “By the way, I’d like 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. Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits.”

In response, the office of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was treating Trump’s statements as business as usual, adding that bilateral relations benefited both countries.

Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia was more blunt.

“We are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace,” she said on X. “What’s terrible is confusing diplomacy with bullying.”

Asked about Trump’s remarks, a NATO diplomat said: “The answer to every question POTUS raises is clear: build a more European NATO. That’s what we’re doing in Ankara.”

Trump calls Iran ‘sick people’

The U.S. has unleashed new military strikes on Iran and revoked a license allowing Iran to sell oil in response to attacks on three tankers. It was the latest blow to a fragile ceasefire agreement in a war that is deeply unpopular in Europe.

“It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” Trump said when asked whether the interim accord with Iran that envisaged hammering out a long-term peace deal by mid-August was over. “They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people.”

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said.

Rutte defended the new U.S. strikes and played down Trump’s disappointment with allies over the Iran war as “isolated cases.”

“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary. It was a very strong response,” Rutte told Trump. “When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react.”

He also praised Trump for making European countries raise their game on defense spending.

“It’s really important when it comes to NATO, what you have achieved, and this is a huge win,” he said.

Trump has accused European nations of failing to let U.S. forces use their airspace and bases on their territories during the war.

European officials have said they largely honored their commitments to U.S. forces, despite not having been consulted about a conflict that roiled their economies.

Trump also demanded that his country control Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, reviving an issue that has put severe strain on the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the start of the Cold War.

“Greenland is very important for the United States, but it’s not important for Denmark,” he said. “In fact, when Denmark was overrun by the Nazis in less than one day - Hitler beat them out in one day, took over - they asked us to take care of Greenland. In fact, we took Greenland, and then stupidly we gave it back.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated that Greenland was not up for grabs .

“We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory,” she said.

安卡拉——周三，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普要求美国切断与西班牙的贸易关系，并再次对格陵兰岛提出主权声索，此举激怒了另一个北约盟国丹麦，导致北约领导人峰会陷入混乱。

特朗普在土耳其首都安卡拉发表讲话时，称马德里是北约“糟糕的伙伴”，他抨击盟友不支持对伊朗的战争，并命令财政部长斯科特·贝森特停止与西班牙的一切贸易。

特朗普的讲话还宣布与伊朗脆弱的停火协议结束，这让欧洲领导人原本希望展现团结和对乌克兰的支持，并为一系列威胁要撕裂军事联盟的争端画上句号的峰会黯然失色。

特朗普与北约秘书长马克·吕特一同发表了讲话。吕特一直不遗余力地试图消除特朗普对国防开支、伊朗和格陵兰岛的担忧，同时对总统将这些问题摆到台面上表示高度赞扬。

他们还削弱了峰会前精心炮制的宣传信息，即欧洲北约国家已加大军费开支力度，周二公布的国防计划至少有 500 亿美元。

华盛顿和马德里一直处于僵持状态，西班牙明确拒绝了特朗普要求欧洲国家大幅增加军费开支并自行承担国防费用的提议。马德里的社会党领导层也拒绝美国在伊朗战争中使用其领空或领土上的军事基地。

“西班牙是个没用的伙伴。我们不想再和西班牙做任何贸易往来，”特朗普说。“顺便说一句，我想彻底断绝与西班牙的联系。西班牙是北约里一个糟糕的伙伴。他们不参与，也不缴纳会费。我不想和西班牙有任何瓜葛。切断与西班牙的一切贸易往来，包括互访。”

对此，意大利总理佩德罗·桑切斯的办公室表示，他们将把特朗普的言论视为一切照常进行，并补充说，双边关系对两国都有利。

西班牙卫生部长莫妮卡·加西亚的措辞则更加直白。

“我们是一个主权独立的民主国家，捍卫多边主义与和平，”她在X电视台表示。“可怕的是将外交与霸凌混为一谈。”

当被问及特朗普的言论时，一位北约外交官表示：“总统提出的每一个问题的答案都很明确：建立一个更加欧洲化的北约。这正是我们在安卡拉正在做的事情。”

特朗普称伊朗是“病态的人”

美国对伊朗发动了新一轮军事打击，并吊销了伊朗的石油出口许可证，以回应三艘油轮遭袭事件。这无疑是对脆弱的停火协议的又一次打击，这场战争在欧洲极不受欢迎。

当被问及旨在8月中旬达成长期和平协议的与伊朗达成的临时协议是否已经失效时，特朗普表示：“这是一个非常有趣的问题。对我来说，我认为一切都结束了。我不想再跟他们打交道了。他们是人渣。他们是病态的人。他们的领导人也是病态的人。”

“在我看来，和他们打交道纯粹是浪费时间，”他说。

吕特为美国的新一轮打击行动辩护，并淡化了特朗普对盟友在伊朗战争问题上的失望，称其为“孤立事件”。

“我认为你昨晚的做法绝对必要，而且回应非常强硬，”吕特对特朗普说。“当停火协议生效，而伊朗却公然违反停火协议时，我认为美国采取强有力的应对措施至关重要。”

他还称赞特朗普促使欧洲国家提高了国防开支。

他说：“就北约而言，你们所取得的成就非常重要，这是一次巨大的胜利。”

特朗普指责欧洲国家在战争期间拒绝让美军使用其领空和在其领土上的基地。

欧洲官员表示，尽管美国并未就这场扰乱其经济的冲突征询过他们的意见，但他们基本上还是履行了对美军的承诺。

特朗普还要求美国控制格陵兰岛，格陵兰岛是丹麦的半自治领土，这再次引发了冷战开始以来一直支撑西方安全的联盟所面临的严重紧张局势。

“格陵兰对美国非常重要，但对丹麦却不重要，”他说。“事实上，当丹麦在不到一天的时间里就被纳粹占领——希特勒一天之内就击败了他们，占领了丹麦——他们请求我们照管格陵兰。实际上，我们占领了格陵兰，然后又愚蠢地把它还给了他们。”

丹麦首相梅特·弗雷德里克森重申，格陵兰岛并非可供争夺的对象。

“我们已做好准备捍卫北约的每一寸土地，包括我们自己的领土，”她说。