Why Spain Is Standing Up to Donald Trump
Key takeaways
- Trump, in return, threatened to “cut off all trade” with Spain, though it was far from clear how his Administration could go about selectively targeting a member of the European Union.
- Sánchez’s criticism of the war has set him up as a conspicuous foil to Trump.
- The LedeReporting and commentary on what you need to know today.
Photograph by Violeta Santos Moura / Reuters Save this story Save this story Save this story Save this story In the immediate hours after President Donald Trump, in conjunction with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, launched the war on Iran, one major European leader chose to speak out against it. “We reject the unilateral military action by the United States and Israel,” the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, posted on X, warning against an “escalation” that could lead to a more “hostile international order.” The next day, Sánchez reiterated his opposition to Iran’s “hateful regime,” but still branded the campaign as “an unjustified and dangerous military intervention.” Even as other European officials shied away from criticizing Trump and offered limited assistance to the U.S. war effort, Spain denied the U.S. access to its military bases for operations linked to Iran. Trump, in return, threatened to “cut off all trade” with Spain, though it was far from clear how his Administration could go about selectively targeting a member of the European Union. Sánchez seemed to revel in the clash. “We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone,” he insisted in a televised address. In early April, after the Administration agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Iran, the Prime Minister did not back down. “The government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket,” he posted.
Sánchez’s criticism of the war has set him up as a conspicuous foil to Trump. On multiple fronts, Sánchez, a photogenic Socialist who has been in power since 2018, cuts a stark political contrast. Trump has rejected as a “scam” the Joe Biden-era pivot toward investment in renewable energy, whereas Sánchez has presided over the doubling of solar- and wind-energy production in Spain since 2019. Trump demonizes immigrants and has launched a sweeping mass-deportation campaign that was cheered by the far right across Europe; Sánchez resists such nativism, and his government is in the midst of a program to give legal status to some half a million undocumented migrants living in Spain. Trump has derided international institutions and sees the United Nations as an impediment to U.S. interests; Sánchez declined Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” initiative, while offering a spirited defense of the U.N. system and the multipolar world it helps shape.
The LedeReporting and commentary on what you need to know today.