The meeting was supposed to be a prelude to the purchase of Finnish icebreakers.

But when U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Finnish President Alexander Stuab to the Oval Office on Thursday, he turned to discussing the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) and his ongoing feud with one of its members, Spain.

At a NATO summit in June, Spain was the most prominent country in opposing Trump’s push to increase defense spending among member states.

Trump has long sought all NATO members Commitment 5% Their gross domestic product (GDP) is used to build military assets. but spain Push successful It applied for a waiver at its June meeting, allowing its spending to remain near its previous 2% benchmark.

That resistance was at the forefront of Trump’s mind as he discussed the U.S. commitment to NATO with Stuab during Thursday’s meeting.

“As you know, I’m asking them to pay 5 percent, not 2 percent,” Trump said of NATO members.

“Most people thought it wasn’t going to happen. And it happened almost unanimously. We have a laggard. That’s Spain. Spain. You have to call them and find out: Why are they the laggards?”

He then pondered whether to retaliate: “There’s no reason why they shouldn’t, but that’s okay. Frankly, maybe you should kick them out of NATO.”

In March, Trump hosted Stubb at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The meeting was supposed to be friendly but turned out to be bitter.

Trump since his first term as president Already shaken In his public comments about NATO, he sometimes Embrace Alliance, and at other times denied it was “obsolete”.

But Trump, seated next to Stuab and Finnish Prime Minister Petri Orpo, took a decidedly enthusiastic approach to defending Finland, one of NATO’s newest members. It joined the alliance in April 2023, followed less than a year later by Sweden.

During an Oval Office meeting on Thursday, reporters pressed Trump on what actions he might take if Russia expands its war in Ukraine to other countries in Europe.

In Finnish politics, the shadow of Russian interference looms large: the former Soviet Union invaded Finland in the 1930s, and since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, relations between the two countries have further deteriorated.

Finland closed its common border with Russia in 2024, an international divide stretching 1,340 kilometers (841 miles).

“What if Russia and Vladimir Putin attack Finland? Will you defend Finland?” a reporter asked Trump on Thursday.

Trump didn’t mince words in his reply. “I will. Yes, I will. They are members of NATO.”

Still, he expressed skepticism about the prospect of a Russian invasion under Putin.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t think he’s going to do that. I think it’s very, very unlikely,” he said, turning to Stubb. “You have a very strong army, one of the best.”

Asked to specify how he would defend Finland in the event of an attack, Trump responded with one word: “Vigorously.”

These passionate words contrasted sharply with his attitude towards Spain. After a NATO summit in June, for example, Trump called Spain’s stance “hostile” and threatened its economy, promising to make it pay “twice” the U.S. tariffs.

“I think what Spain is doing is terrible,” he told reporters, accusing the country of “free riding” at the expense of other countries. “If something bad happens, the economy could collapse completely.”

NATO was founded with 12 initial member states and later expanded to 32 members. Spain joined in 1982.