Overview

• The greeting occurred at a summit in Egypt focused on a Gaza peace plan, with Trump serving as co-host and portrayed in coverage as the plan’s principal driver.
• Sánchez walked to the stage to meet Trump and they smiled as they shook hands for about twelve seconds, including a slight pull and a friendly pat by the U.S. president, according to Europa Press.
• The encounter followed recent remarks in which Trump highlighted Spain’s low defense outlays and, as reported, insinuated expulsion from NATO over missed spending targets.
• At home, Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said, “The problem is not Spain, it is Sánchez,” arguing that allied confidence has eroded under the prime minister.
• The leaders did not greet each other at July’s NATO summit in The Hague, and while Sánchez attended Trump’s UN General Assembly speech, he skipped the leaders’ dinner as King Felipe VI headed Spain’s delegation.