‘It’s FOOLISH’ Donald Trump warns against Catalonia independence

President Trump made the remarks at a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy at the White House yesterday. 

Catalonians are set to vote in a referendum on Sunday October 1 which the Spanish government has declared to be illegal. 

President Trump said: “Spain is a great country and it should remain united. The president says they are not going to vote but I think people are against it. For my part, the only thing I can say is that I would like Spain to remain united.” 

Prime Minister Rajoy also commented on the upcoming vote saying: “It would be nonsense. There can be noise, but not a valid, democratic referendum with guarantees. The only thing they do is create division, tensions and that does not bring anything good to citizens.” 

Catalonia is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions and has been calling for independence since 2012. It is home to seven million people and contains Barcelona. 

In an attempt to prevent the vote, the Spanish government has reportedly seized millions of ballot papers. 

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US has no position on the referendum. She says the US will work with any government or entity that comes out of the vote. 

During the press briefing, the pair also mentioned the recent Barcelona terror attacks which killed 13 and injured 130 people. 

President Trump said: “On behalf of the American people, I want to reaffirm the Spanish people that the United States is at your side when confronting this evil that haunts all humanity.” 

Following the attacks, Spanish media reported that the US National Counterterrorism Center had alerted Spanish intelligence and police forces that ISIS was planning “to conduct unspecified terrorist attacks during the summer against crowded tourist sites in Barcelona, Spain specifically La Rambla street.”

Prime Minister Rajoy said: “Like the United States, we have suffered attacks of jihadist terrorism in our territory. There is still a long way to go, such as cyber security or preventing the financing of terrorism.”