
U.S. President Donald Trump recently made a statement that caused confusion and concern in Spain, as he mistakenly referred to the country as a member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies. The BRICS bloc consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and Spain is not a part of it. Spain is, in fact, a member of NATO and the European Union.
During a press interaction, Trump incorrectly stated that Spain was a BRICS nation when discussing NATO countries that do not meet the alliance's defense spending target of 2% of economic output. Spain, which spent around 1.28% on defense last year, ranked last among the 32 NATO member countries.