Adedokun Waliyu 
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut off trade with Spain and reiterated his desire for the United States to acquire Greenland as NATO leaders gathered for their summit in Ankara.
Speaking to reporters alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte before the main summit session, Trump expressed frustration with the alliance.
“I’m very upset with NATO,” he said. “I’m not happy with NATO because of what they did with Greenland, and I’m not happy with NATO because they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror, which is Iran.”
Trump reserved his strongest criticism for Spain, describing the country as a “terrible partner in NATO.”
“Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” he said, directing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut it off.”
The US president also reaffirmed his interest in Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory that has long featured in his foreign policy ambitions.
“Greenland is a big problem for us,” Trump said, arguing that the island is strategically important. “We need it for the protection of the world, not just the United States. It doesn’t help Denmark, but it helps us.”
Despite Trump’s remarks, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the United States and Denmark would continue discussions under an existing agreement aimed at exploring the possibility of increasing the US military presence on the Arctic island.
Earlier, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen maintained Copenhagen’s long-standing position, insisting that Greenland is “not for sale.”
The NATO summit comes as Washington’s allies seek to ease tensions with Trump following disagreements over the US military campaign against Iran while demonstrating progress on commitments to increase defence spending.
Trump also argued that the United States continues to shoulder an unfair share of NATO’s defence burden.
“We’ve been treated unfairly,” he said, adding that the US spends disproportionately to help protect Europe from Russia.
