Donald Trump has hit a rocky start in the early days of his second term as President of the United States, having been sworn in as the 47th president earlier this week.
At 78, Trump wasted no time signing a series of executive orders following his Monday inauguration. These measures included withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO), proposing changes to birthright citizenship, and delaying the TikTok ban. For context, executive orders allow presidents to issue legally binding directives to federal agencies without needing congressional approval.
However, Trump’s ambitious start was marred by a major misstep during his first press briefing. Responding to a reporter’s question about NATO members, including Spain, falling short of the defense spending target of 2% of GDP, Trump made a notable error.
“Spain is very low. They’re a BRICS nation, Spain. Do you know what a BRICS nation is? You’ll figure it out,” Trump said.
The issue? Spain is not a BRICS nation. BRICS represents a coalition of developing economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, alongside recent additions like Egypt, Indonesia, and the UAE. Spain, a NATO member for over 40 years, is not part of this group.
Spain’s government promptly responded, with Minister Pilar Alegría stating, “I don’t know if President Trump’s statement was a mix-up, but I can confirm that Spain is not in BRICS.” She also reaffirmed Spain’s commitment to NATO and its alliance with the U.S., despite trailing in defense spending.
Trump doubled down on his comments, later announcing plans to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS nations—potentially upending decades of trade agreements with these countries.
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