DONALD Trump has doubled down on his threat to pull US troops out of Spain as a row over the ongoing war in Iran continues to sour diplomatic relations.
The US president said on Thursday that he would ‘probably’ withdraw American soldiers from two jointly-operated bases in Andalucia, linking the move to the Spanish government’s outspoken criticism of Trump’s military campaign in the Middle East.
When asked by a reporter in the Oval Office whether he would consider pulling troops out of bases located in Europe, Trump replied: “Yeah, probably…well, why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible.”
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has been a vocal critic of the war in Iran and has faced a barrage of insults and threats from the White House.
In early March, the US leader lashed out at Spain over NATO spending and threatened to impose a trade embargo over Madrid’s refusal to allow Washington to use two joint bases for operations in the Middle East.
READ MORE: Spaniards now see Donald Trump as a bigger threat to global peace than Vladimir Putin
Standing in the White House lawn as he prepared to leave by helicopter, Trump was asked by a journalist whether Spain was helping the US achieve its military aims.
He replied: “No, they’re not. I think they’re not cooperating at all. Spain? I think they’ve been very bad, very bad, not good at all. We may cut off trade with Spain.”
Spain decided to exercise a veto over the use of Rota and Moron air bases in Cadiz and Sevilla respectively amid fears that US-Israeli strikes on Iran constituted a breach of international law.
“The position of the government of Spain in the face of this situation is clear and consistent, the same one we have maintained in Ukraine and Gaza,” Sanchez explained in a televised address designed to hit back at Trump’s threats.
Last month, an eye-opening poll revealed that Spaniards saw Trump as the biggest threat to global peace – placing him ahead of Vladimir Putin.
In a survey of 2,000 people carried out by research agency 40dB, 81 per cent of respondents named Trump as one of the biggest threats to world peace today.
Putin followed at 79.3%, with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu at 71.2%.
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