Trump won't hesitate to give NATO allies 'tough love', says White House deputy press secretary
WASHINGTON, DC: White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson defended President Donald Trump's pressure on NATO allies as "tough love", insisting he "won't back down" over defense spending commitments.
The defense came as Trump sharply escalated his criticism of Spain over its NATO participation. He called the country a "wasted cause" and urged the US to cut off trade.
White House calls Trump's NATO pressure 'tough love'
Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, July 8, Jackson said Trump was justified in voicing frustration with NATO allies because of the scale of US support for the alliance.
"The president rightfully expressed his frustration at a time when the United States has done more than any other country to support NATO," Jackson said.
She argued that US spending had far exceeded that of other nations and tied Trump's demands to his broader insistence that allies stand behind Washington.
"Our NATO spending has dwarfed other nations, and the president is saying, 'Hey, you know, the United States is taking great action to protect the entire world to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, we are always there for our NATO allies, and so of course they should be there for us,'" Jackson said.
Her comments cast Trump's public pressure campaign as a deliberate push to force allies to meet their commitments rather than a retreat from the alliance.
"But overall, this was a very, very productive summit," Jackson said, pointing to Trump's NATO summit in Turkey from July 7–8.
The summit focused on increasing defense investments to 5% of GDP, accelerating joint military production, and pledging EUR 70 billion in long-term military aid for Ukraine, as per the official website of NATO.
Jackson also said Trump had announced "a surge in defense spending by our allies" that would benefit the US defense industry and support American jobs.
Abigail Jackson says Trump won't back down
"So the president is never going to hesitate to give some tough love to our allies when needed," she said.
Jackson then made clear that Trump intended to keep pressing NATO members over spending commitments.
"He won't back down to make sure our allies meet their spending commitments, and he will unapologetically advocate for American interests," she said.
The remarks directly defended Trump's willingness to publicly confront allied governments even as the White House portrayed the summit itself as productive.
Trump urges US to cut Spain trade
Fox News then turned to what its anchor described as some of that "tough love," airing Trump's remarks about halting US trade with Spain.
"I didn't speak to Spain. Spain is a wasted cause," Trump said.
He went further, saying, "We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore. By the way, I'd like you to cut it off."
Trump then attacked Spain's role in NATO, calling it a "terrible partner" and accusing the country of failing to participate or pay.
"Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate. They don't pay," Trump said.
He ended with his most direct demand: "I don't want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please."
