NATO is not Trump’s apartment, members warn. He cannot behave as if he were NATO’s landlord, deciding who will stay or leave.
NATO comprises members who act in consensus on matters of security. Its 32 members do not act aggressively against another country without due process.
Yet that is what US President Donald Trump did when he invaded Iran on February 28, 2026.
Having ignored NATO conventions, he tried to make a bad situation worse by demanding that traditional friends of the US join in the war. Those friends, most of whom are NATO members, politely declined.
However, Spain was blunt about its opposition to the war. For that, Trump was not only upset; he became vengeful. He has now threatened to lobby other NATO members to kick Spain out of the organization.
What do Other NATO Members Feel About Spain’s Membership?
According to other NATO members, Spain is not going anywhere.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which comprises 32 member countries, has its mandate well spelled out. The organization is responsible for resolving conflicts that could affect any of its members.
It is also charged with managing any ongoing conflict affecting its member(s). NATO’s other role is to defend its members against external aggression militarily. And all that must be formally discussed and agreed upon.
Nothing within NATO conventions provides for the cancellation of Spain’s membership.
Besides, Spain is an old NATO member, having been accepted by existing members in 1982. It became NATO’s 16th member.
Spain has also cooperated well with the other members on defense matters since 1999. That is the year the country was properly integrated into NATO’s military structure.
Before then, Spain had some modalities to complete, having only recently switched from a dictatorial regime, the Franco Regime, to a democracy.
Many in NATO, therefore, find Trump’s suggestion that they kick Spain out laughable.
In fact, his recent behavior and actions were a distraction at Cyprus, where European Union (EU) leaders recently met. Incidentally, most EU countries are also NATO members.
With speakers avoiding mentioning Trump by name, they expressed their grave concerns about the ongoing Middle East conflict.
On Trump’s attitude towards Spain, one senior NATO insider, Camille Grande, told reporters that Trump was behaving as if he owned NATO. She equated him to a landlord who seeks to kick out a tenant who fails to pay the amount of rent demanded.
Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, says there is nothing positive about Trump’s attitude towards Spain.
She seems to have fallen out of Trump’s favor, too, particularly after criticizing the negative remarks Trump recently made about Pope Leo XIV. Responding to the media recently, Trump said that Meloni is no longer the same person he related to.
Meloni has also denied Trump access to the Italian military base in Sicily. She outright said the US cannot launch attacks against Iran from the Sigonella airbase.
Trump has always called NATO a paper tiger, but now members are showing him they are not pushovers, even as individuals.
As things stand, EU countries, most of which are NATO members, remain in solidarity with Spain. They also seem to be speaking in one voice.