MADRID—Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has become a thorn in the side of President Trump, refusing to back the U.S. military in the war with Iran and defying Trump's demands for NATO allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
For the past year, most of Europe has walked on eggshells with Trump, but Sánchez has adopted a different tactic: the 'Just Say No' theory of Trump diplomacy.
Unlike others in Europe, Sánchez has refused to let the U.S. military use his country's air bases for the war, despite Trump's anger.
Spain, rarely the center of gravity in European affairs, has become the standard-bearer for Europeans frustrated at the continent's fear of standing up to a U.S. president.
Trump's threats on Greenland and the unpopularity of the Iran war with voters have brought more Europeans around to Sánchez's position.
'Good allies are like good friends. We tell each other the truth no matter what,' Sánchez told The Wall Street Journal in an interview at La Moncloa, the government's headquarters.
'In my view, this war in Iran is a big mistake for the world and therefore for the U.S.'
Most European leaders have spent the past year trying to win Trump's ear through deference and flattery—only to find their concerns brushed aside as the White House makes decisions with heavy global consequences.
Their restraint appears to be one of the Iran war's casualties.
Some of them are now shuffling toward Sánchez's approach, rejecting Trump's pressure for NATO allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Germany is not part of this war, and we don't want to become a part either,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said recently.
Italy is taking no part and doesn't intend to,' said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Both conservative leaders are seen as among Trump's closer friends in Europe.
Making nice with Trump is becoming evermore unpopular on the continent.
A survey by Polling Europe released in February found 25% of Europeans now view the U.S. as a friendly power, down from 61% two years ago.
In Spain, 77% of voters in a December YouGov survey disapproved of Trump, who threatened to embargo Spain if it didn't raise defense spending.
