Trump Says Spain is Going to Be Destroyed as He Attacks Madrid Over Migration

Donald Trump said Thursday Spain was heading for destruction, delivering one of his sharpest attacks on Madrid as he tied the country’s migrant crisis to a wider confrontation over NATO defense spending.

“Spain is going to be destroyed,” Trump said. He separately described developments in the country as “an outrage,” adding: “It’s gonna ruin their whole country. What are they doing?”

Ceuta Crisis Sharpens Trump’s Attack

Trump’s comments came amid turmoil over Ceuta, Spain’s exclave in North Africa, where more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco arrived on July 30.

Trump linked the crisis directly to his criticism of Spain’s government.

“Spain will be a ruined country, and I've had my own problems with Spain because Spain doesn't behave very well with respect to NATO,” he said.

He added: “They don't pay what they should be paying. It's very sad.”

NATO Spending Dispute

Spain has resisted the NATO spending target agreed by most of the alliance’s 32 members at the 2025 summit in The Hague.

The framework called for defense-related spending equivalent to 5% of GDP by 2035, including 3.5% for core defense and 1.5% for security-related expenditure.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez opposed the target, calling it “not only unreasonable but also counterproductive.”

Spain currently meets NATO’s existing 2% target but has argued that its current spending is sufficient.

Sánchez has previously defended Madrid’s refusal to adopt the higher level, writing in 2025 that governments retained the right to decide whether they were prepared to make such sacrifices.

“As a sovereign ally, we choose not to,” he wrote.

Pressure on Sánchez

The migrant surge followed a ruling that people reaching Ceuta by sea could not be immediately returned to Morocco, as well as Sánchez’s decision to grant legal status to about 1 million migrants.

Sánchez blamed human trafficking networks and online disinformation for the influx and rejected suggestions that Morocco was responsible.

He also accused Israel and Russia of spreading misleading information.

Wider Rift With Madrid

Trump’s confrontation with Spain has extended beyond migration and defense spending.

The Spanish government has previously refused to allow U.S. forces to use its bases, saying its military policy reflected its commitments to NATO, the United Nations and the European Union.

Trump also ordered the U.S. Treasury to “cut off all dealings” with Spain over what he described as its inaction during the Iran war.

Washington has meanwhile pushed European NATO members and Canada to assume a greater share of responsibility for the continent’s defense.

Trump Broadens Attack to Europe

Trump also criticized Britain and France over migration and cultural change.

He said London had once been a safe city but argued that “a different culture has entered London,” adding that Paris had undergone a similar transformation and was “not recognizable.”

Trump also claimed that “Sharia courts” existed in London.

Turning to Britain’s defense capabilities, he questioned whether the U.K. could repeat its 1982 military operation to retake the Falkland Islands.

“The U.K. is not the same country it was 20–25 years ago,” Trump said.

“You went there and took the Falklands back very quickly. I don't know if the U.K. has the capacity to do it again.”

Iran and Ukraine

Trump said his administration was protecting the U.K. from the Iranian threat and argued that a nuclear-armed Iran would be more likely to use such a weapon in Europe than against the U.S.

On the conflict with Iran, Trump declared: “As soon as we win... we have already won.”

He also addressed the war in Ukraine, arguing that hostility between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was preventing an end to the conflict.

“The level of animosity between Putin and Zelensky is causing that war not to end,” Trump said.