His warning followed NATO’s new 5% spending pledge, which Spain alone rejected.

United States President Donald Trump has urged NATO to consider removing Spain from the alliance over what he described as chronic underfunding of its armed forces. He made the remarks during a bilateral meeting with Finland’s President, Alexander Stubb, where he also praised Helsinki for stepping up its military budget after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At a summit in June, NATO members almost unanimously backed Trump’s push to lift the alliance’s defence benchmark from 2% to 5% of national economic output. The new guideline divides spending into 3.5% for core military outlays and 1.5% for wider security-related investments. Spain was the sole ally to refuse the commitment, putting Madrid at odds with a target many capitals now say reflects Europe’s harsher security environment.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has argued that Spain needs to reach only 2.1% of GDP to satisfy its defence obligations, a stance that clashes with the broader increase endorsed by most allies.

Trump’s escalation piles pressure on Madrid and revives longstanding tensions over burden‑sharing within the alliance. While Finland drew commendation for rapid increases since joining NATO and in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the dispute with Spain risks reopening fault lines over how costs are shared and enforced among members. The confrontation now becomes a test of how strictly NATO intends to uphold its new spending target—and how it handles a member that refuses to sign up.