‘I’m Actually Serious’: President Trump Informs NATO Nation Its ‘Free Ride’ Is Over

[Conservative Angle]

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One of President Donald Trump’s key foreign policy positions has long been that other NATO member nations must begin to pay their fair share of the costs disproportionately carried by the US.

While most of those countries have responded with their own promises to increase the share of their GDP they spend on defense, there’s been one notable holdout.

And during this week’s NATO summit, Trump made it clear that Spain’s refusal to pony up extra money would not go unnoticed.

Here’s how the Daily Wire covered the president’s remarks:

“You’re the only country that is not paying. I don’t know what the problem is,” Trump said at the NATO summit in The Hague when questioned about Spain’s refusal to go along.

“You know what we’re gonna do? We’re negotiating with Spain on a trade deal. We’re going to make them pay twice as much. And I’m actually serious about that,” the president added.

NATO members agreed to increase defense spending from the current 2% level to 5% of their country’s gross domestic product by 2035. Spain was the only member that rejected this target, arguing that it would strain the country’s extensive welfare state.

“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do it,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said before the summit.

The bold rhetoric aimed at Spain in recent days has drawn some attention on social media:

Spain is going to pay more $$$ in trade or they will pay 5% to NATO for defense.

That's the choice.

— floridanow1 (@floridanow1) June 25, 2025

Trump just handled the press at the NATO Meeting. Spain you are going to pay. pic.twitter.com/sBO4Y9J4wI

— Corky Swift (@CorkySwift2) June 25, 2025

President Trump: Spain is a very LOW PAYER!

"People have to be very careful with what they say, because their mouth could get them into trouble."#Trump #Spain #NATO pic.twitter.com/ILh9uVuRjv

— ZoieZoe (@zoiezoe3186) June 20, 2025

The president had kind words for the remaining member nations for their agreement to increase funding to the 5% level.

Politico covered some of the other remarks Trump made in his NATO address:

The president also used his platform to defend his decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites as an unequivocal success. He also lashed out at media outlets that reported on intelligence assessments which suggested Iranian capabilities were set back mere months.

Trump heralded NATO’s adoption of a new spending goal for members to devote 5 percent of gross domestic product to defense over the next decade as “a monumental win for the United States, because we were carrying much more than our fair share, quite unfair actually.”

But rather than grousing about the past, Trump reveled in his own catalytic role in helping to rebalance the alliance. “They said, ‘You did it, sir, you did it,’” Trump said. “Well, I don’t know if I did it, but I think I did.”

Here’s some additional coverage of his address, per Fox News:

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