US Politics
The Coercive Presidency: How a Trade Threat Against Spain Undermines Alliances and the Rule of Law
President Donald Trump threatened to unilaterally sever all trade with Spain using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, citing Spain's resistance to NATO spending demands, but later softened his tone after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The president's willingness to weaponize emergency powers for geopolitical leverage over a democratic ally represents a chilling erosion of institutional and alliance norms in favor of personal deal-making.
