Spain

During a televised Oval Office meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly aligned with President Trump's criticism of Spain's NATO defense spending and refusal to grant US forces basing rights for operations against Iran, while remaining silent as Trump also rebuked British Prime Minister Starmer. Merz stated that Spain 'is the only one who is not willing to accept' NATO burden-sharing commitments, effectively endorsing Trump's punitive framing of Spain as an uncooperative ally. Merz later claimed he privately defended Spain and Britain at a luncheon, but the public record shows German-American convergence against two NATO partners. This represents a structural crack in European solidarity at a moment when Merz has publicly championed greater European unity and reduced reliance on the United States. The episode demonstrates that bilateral access to Washington is being purchased at the cost of intra-European cohesion.

During a televised Oval Office meeting, German Chancellor Merz declined to publicly defend Spain or Britain when Trump criticized both for insufficient NATO defense spending and Spain's refusal to grant US base access for Iran operations. Merz publicly echoed Trump's position on Spain's military spending shortfalls, stating Spain was 'the only one not willing to accept' NATO burden-sharing commitments. Merz later claimed he privately defended both allies at a subsequent luncheon but explicitly declined to do so publicly to avoid deepening the confrontation. This event reveals a structural fracture in European solidarity: Germany's most powerful state is willing to publicly subordinate European alliance cohesion to bilateral US access. The episode occurs in the context of an ongoing US-Iran war and active trade pressure on European states, compressing Germany's strategic latitude.