Drawing a distinction between the Spanish people and government, the US’s new Ambassador to Spain has backed Trump’s recent criticisms of the Sánchez administration just days after meeting the country’s far-right leader.
The US Ambassador to Spain Benjamin León Jnr. has defended Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of Spain but drew a distinction between Spaniards and the government: “It’s not against the Spanish people, it’s against the Government”, he said.
Framing the clashes as what he described as “differences” between the current “governments”, León tempered his comments and insisted that the relationship between the two countries remains a “deep one” despite policy differences.
The US representative, who arrived in Madrid at a particularly tense time in relations with Washington, spoke to the Spanish press on Wednesday at a breakfast briefing organised by the Nueva Economía Fórum in Madrid.
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Asked about a possible partial or total withdrawal of US troops from the bases at Rota and Morón, León avoided answering, stating that the “only person with the authority [to answer] as commander-in-chief of the US military is President Trump”.
However, he noted that the “frustration” expressed by Washington towards Spain over its refusal to raise military spending to 5 percent of GDP is justified.
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“Spain is the only government that has said it will not fulfill what it said at that meeting that it would fulfill,” he said.
“That’s President Trump’s frustration. Let’s not talk about subsequent events that fuelled that frustration a little further,” he added, in apparent reference to the refusal of Pedro Sánchez’s government to allow Washington to use the Spanish military bases.
That decision led Trump to threaten to sever trade relations and impose an embargo last March.
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“When there is a relationship as deep as the one between Spain and the US, there are differences between governments. When President Trump has referred to Spain, he has been comparing Spain – speaking of NATO – with other countries. He has always said, at the end of that comment, that the best and most positive thing about Spain is the Spanish people. And it is nothing against the Spanish people, it is against the government, because of that frustration. And I think he is right,” León said.
This comes after León met recently with Spain’s far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal to discuss alleged government corruption. It is unclear if they also discussed alleged corruption in the US administration or Spain’s opposition Partido Popular (PP).
Various corruption scandals surround the Sánchez inner-circle and his government is one of the few left-leaning administrations left in Europe.
When asked about the possibility of Trump visiting Spain in the near future, León was sceptical “I don’t think the [Spanish] government has made any moves to invite the President. If the Spanish president hasn’t received me, I don’t think he’s inviting President Trump,” he said.
León was handpicked by President Trump. Sánchez has repeatedly angered Trump by speaking out against war with Iran, refusing to increase defence spending to five percent of GDP, and has been a world-leading voice of support for Gaza and Palestine.
Trump has previously called Spain a “terrible” ally and suggested he may cut trade with Spain.
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