President Donald Trump called MS NOW a “failing network” and asked its correspondent, “Why would you want to work for them?” during a 40-minute press conference at the NATO summit in Ankara. The outburst came as Ines de La Cuetara questioned him about other countries’ responses to the war with Iran.
Trump then ordered an immediate halt to all trade with NATO ally Spain, escalating tensions over defence spending and the Iran conflict. “I don’t want to do any trade with them, alright?” he told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who replied, “Yes, sir.” Trump called Spain a “terrible partner” and told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, “Spain doesn't agree to anything, and you shouldn't carry them.” Rutte tried to soothe the tension, noting Spain “made a huge step last year” raising spending to 2% of GDP, but added “there are still issues we have to solve.”
“Trump attacks MS NOW journalist, halts Spain trade, and says UK 'had a bad moment' over Iran at NATO summit.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez played down the rift, saying he had a “very cordial” conversation with Trump and announcing an unspecified fresh deployment of Spanish troops to Finland for NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission. “The facts are the facts,” Sanchez said, noting Spain’s strong economic growth and a trade deficit with the U.S.
On the Iran war, Trump accused UK officials of saying they would “want to wait until the war is over” to help, which he said was “not in the spirit of Winston Churchill.” He added that Britain “just had a bad moment,” while Italy has been “good” and Spain “very bad.” He called de La Cuetara’s question “very fair.”
In a separate impromptu press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump appeared to confuse Iran with Japan, saying, “We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” and later asked reporters if they had “a question for President Putin,” prompting laughter. Trump also claimed he is “number one on the kill list for Iran.”