Trump Administration’s NATO Comments Are Pushing Europe to Seek Alternatives, Spain Says

Madrid’s foreign minister said that recent remarks from Washington were forcing Europeans to ’take a leap in terms of our sovereignty and defense.’

NATO headquarters in Brussels on Sept.12, 2025. Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration’s comments about NATO allies and threats to leave the alliance altogether are pushing European member states to look for alternative security arrangements, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on April 7.

Following the reluctance of European countries to send their navies to help open up the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the alliance, as did U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in late March.