Trump: “Spain is going to be a ruined country… What’s happening there is very sad to see.”

Trump: “Spain is going to be a ruined country… What’s happening there is very sad to see.” US President Donald Trump stated in an interview with the British channel GB News that “Spain will be a ruined country” as a result of the Ceuta migration crisis. The comment comes a day after mass demonstrations in Zaragoza, Madrid, and dozens of other Spanish cities.

“Spain will be a ruined country, and I’ve had my own problems with Spain because they don’t behave very well with respect to NATO. They don’t pay what they should pay,” Trump told journalist Bev Turner. Regarding the images from Ceuta, he added: “What’s happening there is very sad to see.” He compared the situation to that of the United Kingdom: “I wish other countries like the United Kingdom—where you have your own problems—but it’s not as visible as that. You don’t have thousands of people storming into your country en masse. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

This is Trump’s second major intervention regarding Ceuta. At the end of July, when more than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco, he described the episode as an “invasion” and a “catastrophe,” attributing the surge to “weak laws,” “mismanagement,” and “very progressive laws” of Pedro Sánchez’s government, and warning that the United States would end up the same way “if the wrong side wins” in 2028. The State Department even spoke of “deliberate efforts” by Madrid to facilitate illegal immigration.

The new statement brings together two open fronts with Sánchez: border control and defense spending. Trump has spent months accusing Spain of not meeting the quota that Washington demands in NATO and of not ceding the Rota and Morón bases for operations against Iran. The Spanish president has defended sovereignty over these facilities and rejected the target of 5% of GDP for defense.

In Spain, the statement comes on an already heated chessboard. The government maintains that most of those who entered in July have returned to Morocco and that approximately 5,000 remain in Ceuta. The opposition and many of this week's protests interpret the situation in Ceuta as a failure of the state. Neither the Prime Minister's office (Moncloa) nor the Presidential Palace (Palacio de Santa Cruz) had issued an official response to Trump's latest comment as of this time.

Trump: “España va a ser un país arruinado... Lo que está ocurriendo allí es muy triste de ver... Miles de personas simplemente irrumpiendo en masa en su país. Nunca he visto nada igual.” pic.twitter.com/84MPfOGpjh — Wall Street Wolverine (@wallstwolverine) September 3, 2026