President Donald Trump still remembers that Spain refused to support his military offensive implemented in Iran and unexpectedly criticized its government for the way it manages its economy.

At the end of March, the Spanish government ordered the closure of its airspace to US flights participating in the military operation against the Islamic Republic and reiterated its refusal to lend its Rota and Moron air bases for such a purpose. “Spain will not authorize under any circumstances (…) the use of the Rota and Moron bases to wage a war that we are totally against, that we do not believe in, that we consider profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust,” stated Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a press release. In response to this stance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Spain might “review” its relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "If NATO is just about us defending Europe while they deny us base rights when we need them, then it's not a very good agreement. We will have to review all of this," he warned. Donald Trump even threatened to end trade relations with Madrid and impose a trade embargo on the country. The Iberian nation, from its perspective, represented a “terrible partner” of the Atlantic Alliance due to its reluctance to commit to increasing its defense spending by 5%. Although none of that has happened, Trump again railed against Spain and, through a post on the Truth Social platform, reiterated that its contribution to NATO is insignificant compared to the protection benefits it receives as a member. "Have anybody noticed how badly Spain is doing? Its economic numbers, despite contributing virtually nothing to NATO or its military defense, are absolutely disastrous. It's very sad to see!" he wrote.

Although last summer NATO members agreed to increase their defense spending from 2% to 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), President Pedro Sanchez anticipated that it would not reach that level because he believes the military capabilities objective can be met with a lower budget, of just over 2% of GDP.