Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Spain in an interview with British broadcaster GB News, calling the Ceuta migration crisis "very sad to see" and describing the late July mass crossing as something "worse than an invasion." The former US president also warned that migrants could eventually spread into other European countries, including the UK.
"Spain will be a ruined country," Trump said, stopping short of directly blaming Morocco or its security forces, despite the political controversy in Spain over a leaked police report suggesting a degree of passivity by Moroccan authorities during the mass crossing into the enclave.
The Republican leader immediately linked his criticism to his long running dispute with Madrid over NATO defense spending. "Spain doesn't behave very well with respect to NATO. They don't pay what they should be paying," he said, echoing language he has used before to call Spain "terrible" on its contributions to the Atlantic alliance and to threaten trade consequences.
Trump also used the interview to note that the UK faces its own migration crisis, though he described it as less visible than Spain's. "Hopefully other countries, like the UK, where you have your own problems, but it's not as visible as that. You don't have thousands of people just bum rushing your country," he said.
Pedro Sanchez's government has not directly responded to Trump's comments on GB News. The Spanish prime minister has previously called Spain's sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla a "red line" and described Moroccan territorial claims as "unacceptable," though he has stopped short of formally accusing Morocco of orchestrating the mass arrival of migrants in the enclave.