The US president is furious with Spain, which, unlike alliance members that increased the defense budget to 5% as he demanded, has committed to only 2%. He warned Sanchez:"We will make you pay double in the trade agreement, the Spanish economy could be destroyed." When Trump likened Israel and Iran to children who are fighting at school, the NATO Secretary General compared him to a"father who interferes," the president was not offended: "He loves me." Trump clarified: Committed to Article 5, which includes defending Europe

Ynet and the agencies|

President of the United States

Donald Trump

launched an attack on the Spanish government this evening (Wednesday), after it emerged that it was the only company in

NATO

Which did not respond to the demand to increase its annual defense budget to 5% of GDP and decided to leave it at only 2%. Most members of the military alliance, which includes 32 countries, agreed to the move, which followed Trump's demand. The American president has been arguing for years that NATO countries must increase their financial investment in the alliance and stop relying on the enormous money invested in it by the United States, the largest donor to NATO.

8 Viewing the gallery

Trump tonight in The Hague."I don't know if I did it, but I did it" (Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw)

Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez. Did not meet with the American president (Photo: Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

The NATO summit's final statement, released at noon near the end of the conference in The Hague, and signed by the leaders of all 32 countries, stated that"Allies commit to investing 5% of their GDP in core security requirements and spending on internal and external security matters by 2035, to ensure the realization of our commitments - each country for itself and collectively." It was a show of unity from NATO members at a time when many in Europe feel that the threat from Russia is growing, and Trump called the conclusions on increasing security investment"something that no one ever thought could happen," and flattered himself: "They said, you did it, sir, you did it. Well, I don't know if I did it, but I did it."

But, as mentioned, one country refused to align itself more than anyone else, and that was Spain. The government in Madrid announced before the conference that it would not be able to meet the 5% target, a target that would require every government to invest billions of dollars more each year in the field of security, and called this target"illogical." Along with Spain, Belgium also signaled that it would not be able to meet the target budget, and Slovakia said that it reserved the right to decide on its own defense budget.

In the group photo in The Hague: Sanchez (first bottom right) looks distant (Photo: BEN STANSALL/Pool via REUTERS)

(Photo: AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

During the group photo of NATO leaders today in The Hague, the Prime Minister of Spain is seen

Pedro Sanchez

Somewhat distant from the other leaders. After the conference, Sanchez said that Spain would only be able to invest 2% of its GDP in security – less than half the rate other countries had pledged. At the end of the conference, Trump attacked Madrid:"They want to stay at 2%. I think it's terrible. You know what we're going to do? We (the US) are negotiating with Spain on a trade agreement. We're going to make them pay double the price. The Spanish economy could be completely destroyed." Already yesterday, Trump complained about the problems being piled up by the Spanish government:"Spain doesn't agree, and it's very unfair to the rest, to be honest."

The Spanish Prime Minister himself noted this evening that he did not have the opportunity to meet directly with Trump during the conference. Sanchez, let us recall, is a man of the socialist left, and has taken a very strong anti-Israeli line in the past year and a half. He was one of the first among senior European leaders

Attack her response

of Israel in the Gaza Strip after the October 7 terrorist attack, and in the past year he has openly accused it of genocide, calling it

"Genocide State"

and is leading attempts to impose sanctions on it. It was only recently reported that his government is promoting

Cancellation of a major arms deal with Israel

.

Trump is flattered: "Great victory, Make NATO Great Again"

Many European countries besides Spain are facing major economic challenges, and the heavy tariffs that Trump has decided to impose on economies around the world could make it even more difficult for them to meet the budget target that has been set. Some countries are already cutting welfare and foreign aid budgets in order to inject more money into their defense budgets. Other countries, located closer to the borders with Russia and Ukraine – such as Poland, the three Baltic states and the Nordic countries – have pledged to increase their defense budgets to 5% of GDP, as have European powers Britain, France and Germany, as well as the Netherlands.

In the closing statement of today's summit, NATO leaders emphasized their uncompromising commitment to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on the entire alliance, and therefore all other members will come to its aid. This comes after, ahead of the conference, Trump once again cast doubt – as he did in his first term – on the possibility that the United States would come to the aid of other members of the alliance if they were attacked. Only yesterday, when asked about his commitment to Article 5, he replied that it"depends on the definition," but today, when asked if he was loyal to the article, he replied:"That's why I'm here. Why else would I be here?"

In their statement, NATO leaders also stated that they were united in the face of"deep security threats and challenges, especially the long-term threat posed by Russia." Before the summit, there was concern that Trump would oppose this wording - given his attempt to appease Vladimir Putin. European countries emphasized that such wording in the conclusion statement was necessary to justify the increase in the defense budget to their citizens.

European leaders today did not skimp on superlatives for the summit's results, and it is clear that they often flatter Trump. Finnish President Alexander Stoev said that the agreement was"a great victory for both President Trump and Europe," and that "we are witnessing a rebirth of NATO, an event that means a more balanced NATO." NATO countries began to cut their defense spending in the secure years after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but according to the Finnish president, they will now return to spending at the level of the Cold War.

Prime Minister of Great Britain

Wall Streamer

He also expressed his support for the budget increase: "This is the moment to unite, for Europe to make a fundamental change in its position and for NATO to confront this challenge head-on." Lithuanian President Gitnas Nausėda said about the weight of Trump's MAGA slogan that "we must choose the motto - Make NATO Great Again."

The question for Secretary General Ruta: "Aren't you flattering yourself too much?"

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO leaders agreed to increase each member's defense budget to at least 2% of GDP, and last year, 22 of the 32 members already met this goal, compared to only three about a decade ago.

At a summit in The Hague today, the allies approved a significant reform of their spending targets. They raised the threshold for what NATO calls “core defense spending” to 3.5%, changing the calculation to include military aid to Ukraine. To meet Trump’s 5% demand, the agreement set an additional target of 1.5% of GDP to be devoted to broader defense-related spending, such as upgrading roads, bridges, ports and airports to enable faster deployment of forces, countering cyber and hybrid attacks, and preparing civil society for future wars.

If the Trump administration announces in the coming months the withdrawal of some American forces from Europe, where about 84,000 US military troops are stationed, the countries of the continent may even be required to make additional financial investments, because they will have to plug the holes that Washington will leave behind. The Pentagon is expected to announce its intentions in this regard later this year.

At a press conference in The Hague, a reporter asked Trump today about NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte calling him"daddy" earlier today."Do you treat your NATO allies as some kind of children?" she asked. Trump laughed and replied:"No, he loves me. I think he loves me. If he doesn't, I'll let you know. He did it with great love."

Trump and Ruta today. Flattery"It's a matter of taste" (Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville)

Rutte made the amusing statement during a meeting between him and the American president, in which Trump said of Israel and Iran:"They had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like crazy, you can't stop them. Let them fight for 2-3 minutes, and then it's easy to stop them." Rutte laughed in response and said: "Then sometimes Dad has to use strong language to get them to stop." In his remarks, the NATO Secretary General was referring to Trump's statement yesterday that Israel and Iran have been fighting for so long and so hard"that they have no idea what the hell they're doing," while the American president used the blunt word fuck.

When a journalist later asked Rutte if he might be showering Trump with too much praise and flattery, Rutte replied:"No, I don't think so. I think it's a matter of taste."

"Dear Donald." The beginning of Rutte's message, which Trump shared online

The question came after, before the summit, Trump posted a long text message - some would say an outpouring - that he had sent to Rota and back, congratulating him on his"crushing action in Iran" and complimenting him on the fact that on the eve of the NATO summit he was about to achieve "something that no American president has been able to do for decades" (raising the members' defense budget to 5%).

"Mr. President, dear Donald," Rutte wrote to him,"Congratulations and thank you for your crushing action in Iran, which was truly extraordinary, and something no one dared to do. It makes us all safer. You are flying tonight on your way to another great success in The Hague. It was not easy, but we managed to get everyone to agree on the 5%!" Throughout the message, Rutte often used capital letters in English, a writing style that is very similar to Trump's own, which was also perceived by many as an attempt to flatter him.