President Trump is expressing his frustration over the Spanish government’s opposition to the war in Iran. But not holding back, Spain’s prime minister is happy to be in the spotlight.
Scott Ditrow, Host:
World leaders have scrambled and at times struggled to take a clear position on the war in Iran. But one European leader is eager to take on the role of standing up to President Trump. NPR’s Miguel Macias reports from Seville, Spain.
MIGUEL MACIAS, BYLINE: When President Trump decided to speak about the Spanish government from the Oval Office last week, he didn’t hold back.
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President Donald Trump: We have nothing but great people in Spain. They have great people, but they don’t have good leadership.
Macias: There was already bad blood between Trump and the Spanish government. Last year, Spain refused to increase military spending to 5% of its GDP, as Trump urged all NATO countries to do. But then this happened. The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran over the weekend, flight records show, of at least 15 refueling planes leaving two jointly operated military bases in southern Spain after they were not allowed to provide support for a military operation in Iran. That seems to be the last straw for President Trump.
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TRUMP: So we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We want nothing to do with Spain.
Macias: The next morning, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was undaunted.
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PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
Macias: “We say no to breaking international law that protects all of us, especially civilians,” Sanchez said.
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SANCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
Macias: “The world will not accept that its problems can only be solved through conflicts and bombs. And in short, four words.”
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Sanchez: No a la guerra.
Machias: “No to war.” For Spaniards of a certain age, it was difficult to lose the historical connection. That slogan, No a la Guerra, was printed on T-shirts chanted at protests against war — the Iraq War, that is — in 2003.
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José María Aznar: (Speaks Spanish).
Macias: Then-Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar sided with President George W. Bush, assuring citizens that Iraq’s then-president Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. And then, in Spain, millions of protesters poured into the streets to oppose that war.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: No a la guerra. No. A la Guerra.
Macias: Aznar’s conservative populist party paid the price at the ballot box and lost the next year, the 2004 election, to Sánchez’s party, the Socialists. At the time, Sanchez was not an elected official. Fast forward to today.
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SANCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
Macias: “In 2003 and 2026, Spain will always say no to war,” he said over the weekend on the campaign trail for the upcoming regional elections.
MARIA RAMIREZ: For Pedro Sánchez, criticizing Trump is very convenient in a country where nearly 77% of citizens have an unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump, according to a YouGov poll.
MACIAS: That’s Maria Ramirez. He is deputy managing editor of the online news site eldiario.es. He says polls show most Spaniards are against war with Iran.
RAMIREZ: So Sanchez is getting popular support, maybe. And he is not at risk as much as other big countries in Europe.
Macias: Countries like France and the UK with more powerful militaries and nuclear weapons.
RAMIREZ: So you could say Sánchez is the moral conscience of Europe, but you could also say he’s the driver behind the wheel.
MACIAS: That’s because Sánchez is struggling to control his governing coalition and he faces a tough election in 2027. Sánchez has been known to adopt anti-establishment ideas over time to stay in power, and now he has bet everything against Trump and all the conservative politicians in Iran are waging war against.
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Isabel Diaz Ayuso: (Speaks Spanish).
MACIAS: That’s the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, a rising conservative star, telling opponents, “I encourage you to walk around Tehran drunk alone or wear a miniskirt in Kabul. Go ahead. Travel there and take your gay friends with you. Gay people in those countries,” unquote. But with a sizable portion of conservative voters in Spain opposing the war, according to polls, Sánchez’s bet may just be victorious. Miguel Macias, NPR News, Seville, Spain.
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