President Trump said Tuesday he opposes independence for Catalonia, the Spanish region whose leaders plan to hold a secession referendum on Oct. 1.
“We’re dealing with a great, great country and it should remain united,” Trump said at a White House press conference with Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy.
Leaders in the Catalan-speaking region want to break away for cultural and economic reasons, including the fact that the region’s relative wealth means its tax contribution is redistributed elsewhere.
Spanish leaders have seized millions of ballots and arrested leaders of the regional government, saying the referendum would be illegal.
The central government has anchored three large ferries in Barcelona’s harbor with police officers to prevent a vote, amid large street protests in favor of independence.
“I’ve been watching that unfold, but it has actually been unfolding for centuries,” Trump said Tuesday. “Nobody knows if they’re going to have a vote. I think the president would say they are not going to have a vote. But I think that the people would be very much opposed to that.”
Rajoy said at the press conference “it would be very wrong” for Catalonia to unilaterally declare independence.
“There aren’t ballots, there aren’t people at the voting stations,” Rajoy said through a translator. “It’s just crazy, all this will lead to is noise.”
The leaders were asked about the planned referendum in a subsequent question.
Trump added: “The people of Catalonia have been talking about this for a long time, but I bet you if you had accurate numbers and accurate polling, you would find they love their country, they love Spain, and they wouldn’t leave.”
