Trump Mistakenly Places Spain in BRICS Bloc

A question from a journalist sparked some confusion in the White House, with President Trump mistakenly identifying Spain as part of the BRICS group, composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. When asked about NATO countries like Spain that don't meet the NATO threshold of spending 2% of GDP on defense, Trump replied, "Spain is very low. They're a BRICS nation, Spain. Do you know what a BRICS nation is?" He continued, "We are going to put at least a 100% tariff on the business they do with the United States."

While Spain is indeed a NATO member and part of the European Union, it does not belong to the BRICS bloc. The error emerged as Trump discussed Spain's defense expenditure, which at 1.28%, ranks last among the 32 NATO countries against the NATO-agreed 2% of GDP. Trump has consistently pressured NATO countries to enhance their defense budgets, suggesting a new desirable threshold of 5%. Reacting to Trump's comments, Spanish Education Minister and government spokesperson Pilar Alegría on Tuesday said, "I don't know if the affirmation made by President Trump was the result of a mix-up or not, but I can confirm that Spain is not in BRICS." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)