Sánchez's cordial approach with Trump fails to ease US pressure on Spain's military spending

Despite Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's attempt to de-escalate tensions through a friendly informal chat with Donald Trump (discussing football, the World Cup, and golf), the core conflict over military spending remains unresolved. Sánchez's cordial approach has not softened Washington's or NATO's criticism of Spain's refusal to increase defense investment to 5% of GDP. Trump continues to single out Spain among countries falling short of NATO spending commitments, and the US is escalating pressure over military expenditure.