Donald Trump derailed what was supposed to be a show of unity during the NATO summit in Turkey as he raged at allies, renewed demands to take over Greenland and declared the Iran ceasefire 'over'
06:01 ET, 08 Jul 2026Updated 11:07 ET, 08 Jul 2026
This week's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, was meant to be a show of strength and unity, but Donald Trump derailed the two-day event with rage-filled remarks and simultaneously reignited conflict in the Middle East.
The US president didn't hold back as he reiterated his frustration at NATO on Wednesday, complaining that member countries "have not treated us right," calling out France, Germany, Italy and the UK specifically, before describing Spain as a "bad partner".
He also referred to Greenland as a "big problem" as he renewed his demand to take control over the Danish territory. While in Turkey, Trump also reignited violence in the Middle East by launching fresh strikes in Tehran, telling reporters at the NATO summit that his ceasefire with Iran is "over" as he ranted about the "scum" regime. It comes as worrying new photos revealed Trump's shocking physical appearance when he's not wearing make-up.
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Trump calls Greenland a 'big problem' as he renews calls for US control
Trump continued his demands to take over Greenland on Wednesday, claiming the US needs to gain ownership of it for security reasons.
His renewed insistence on claiming the semiautonomous territory of Denmark has upended the NATO summit in Ankara, which was meant to be a show of strength and unity.
“Greenland is very important to the United States, but it’s not important to Denmark,” Trump argued, as he met with Rutte on the second day of the summit. He continued, “We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States.”
Trump also hit out at NATO over the Danish territory. "I am not happy with NATO because of what they did with Greenland," he said while sitting beside Rutte.
Trump rages at 'scum' Iran as he declares ceasefire 'over'
Hours after launching strikes on Iran to retaliate for strikes on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump told reporters at NATO on Wednesday that the ceasefire is "over”, calling the Iranian regime "scum" and describing them as "sick people" while taking questions in Ankara.
"Is the ceasefire over, is the ceasefire done, is the MOU dead?" one reporter queried. "For me, I think it's over," Trump said
"I don't want to deal with them anymore, they're scum! You know what scum is? They're scum, they're sick people. They're led by sick people, and they're vicious, violent, and if they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it. As far as I'm concerned, it's over," he continued.
The president added that he would speak to his negotiators, saying they would want to negotiate because "they're good people," but shrugged at the prospect.
"But they'll have to come back to me. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars," later adding, "We make a deal, no nuclear weapon - they go outside, talk to the press, they say 'we never even talked about it'."
Trump threatens to cut off trade with Spain
Trump also lashed out at Spain on the second day of the NATO summit, calling the country a "terrible partner".
He repeated an earlier threat to cut trade with the nation. “Spain is a wasted cause,” Trump said on the sidelines of the summit. “We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. I’d like to cut it off.”
He went on: “I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits.” It echoed a similar threat Trump made in March, when he cited Spain’s lack of support for his war in Iran and resistance to increasing NATO spending.
Trump says he's 'very upset' at NATO as he lashes out at Germany, France, UK and Italy
Trump complained that NATO countries “have not treated us right,” as he claimed the US has “been treated unfairly; we pay disproportionately.”
He complained about member countries refusing to join his war with Iran, claiming only some smaller countries wanted to help, because “they are the most vulnerable” on Russia, and understand what is at stake.
“I am very upset with Nato that we pay far, far too much,” he added.
"I spoke to Germany, I spoke to France, I spoke to UK, I spoke to Italy," he said as he called out multiple countries specifically for refusing to assist his war with Iran. "They weren't there for us," he complained.
Trump goes on late-night Truth Social spree
During his visit to Turkey, Trump was also active on his Truth Social account, posting and reposting at least 16 times over just a few hours on Tuesday night.
Ahead of his NATO meetings on Wednesday, Trump also reposted another account that had written “I voted for this!” with a cartoon “Boom!” sign.
In another repost, footage of the actual attacks was posted to Trump’s feed with no comment other than “BREAKING: Massive strikes against Iran”.
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While visiting Turkey for the NATO summit, Trump also reposted a clip of Marco Rubio a few years ago speaking to the camera about socialism, claiming that while socialism sounds “benign,” at its core it has a “fake offer, that if you turn over more of your individual freedom, we’re gonna provide you security” and “free healthcare”.
It comes as Trump's aide humiliated him by asking how to stop a sickening type of filthy stains getting on chairs.
