David Alandete: ‘Donald Trump appears to be chaotic, but in reality he improvises very little’

1. An influential and courageous journalist
2. Relations between power and the press
3. No adjectives
4. The stance of the American press
5. Spain and NATO
6. Trump and Pedro Sánchez

In a packed auditorium at the Madrid Press Association, with long queues of readers waiting for the journalist's autograph, David Alandete's latest book, dedicated to Donald Trump, was presented last Tuesday.

The presentation, in the form of a round table discussion, featured the participation of La Esfera de los Libros editor Ymelda Navajo; Maite Rico, deputy director of The Objective; and journalist Ketty Garat.

An influential and courageous journalist

Ymelda Navajo described David Alandete as ‘one of the most influential and courageous journalists, one of those who don't wait for the news to come to them while staring at the ceiling. He is a correspondent with eyes and ears everywhere’.

The editor recalled the ‘political extortion suffered for asking questions’ that Alandete endured following Trump's statements about Spain and military spending: ‘a campaign of harassment and destruction that failed to achieve its objective and prompted the Madrid Press Association to come to his defence’.

Navajo ended her speech by stating that ‘without questions there is no journalism. And David asks questions.’

Relations between power and the press

For Maite Rico, ‘David Alandete's book is not just about intrigue and secrets. It is a lively and entertaining chronicle of the relationship between power and the press, and the role of the media in the United States and Spain.’

The journalist recalled that the International Press Club awarded David Alandete the prize for Best Spanish Correspondent of 2025 and he also received the Eisenhower Prize, ‘but, unfortunately, for Minister Óscar Puente, he is only an unpatriotic person for asking Donald Trump about Spain and NATO.’

According to Ketty Garat, 'a journalist is his questions, but also his information and his sources. And it is very commendable that a Spanish journalist reports on the inner workings of the White House. It is a source of pride for us and a defence of the role of the journalist as a witness, without bias, without taking sides.'

No adjectives

The star of the evening was reluctant to give his personal opinion on Trump: 'A journalist degrades himself when he accompanies journalism with adjectives. My opinion of Trump doesn't matter; the facts matter.'

Alandete acknowledged that 'with Trump, it's important not to fall into easy caricature or last-minute coverage, because you miss everything he does: removing Nicolás Maduro from power, expanding the US presence in Greenland, increasing NATO's defence budget, deploying forces in Minneapolis with two deaths...'

He also explained how important it is to have the support of editors when political pressure comes: 'if you don't have an editor who supports you, you're lost. ABC did this when we reported on Joe Biden's health problems and we had to endure pressure from the Embassy, my sources in Venezuela were shut down. And five months later, we saw what happened in the disastrous debate in Atlanta with Trump.'

The stance of the American press

When asked by Maite Rico whether the American press also caricatures Trump, as the European press does, Alandete explained that 'Trump is a symptom of American politics, dominated by an anti-populist and elitist current among Republicans, who already caricatured Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. Trump said goodbye to his first term saying he would be back, and eight days later, the leader of the Republican Party visited him and handed him the party. That was the beginning of a purge that has continued during his second term. It is true that some caricatures have been made in the United States, but the landscape has changed a lot: CBS is now an openly Trumpist network.'

Ketty Garat asked Alandete whether Trump is a master negotiator or a victim of improvisation, to which he replied: 'Donald Trump appears chaotic, but in reality he improvises very little. On my first visit to the Oval Office, I asked him about Venezuela, because there are no accredited Venezuelan journalists, and he told me what was going to happen. Since then, when he wants to talk about Venezuela, he seeks me out.'

Spain and NATO

On the issue that led to the Spanish government's harassment of the journalist, David Alandete was very clear: 'It was Trump who started talking about expelling Spain from NATO, without anyone asking him; it was a “motu proprio” statement by the president. Then the Efe correspondent asked a follow-up question, and then I did. But for the government and the Minister of Transport, it was me who provoked it. The Spanish Embassy was investigating who asked the question. Before, as there were only journalists from RTVE and Efe in the White House, it was easy to cover it up, but now things have changed.'

Paradoxically, Alandete considers Trump to be a very transparent president: 'He talks about everything he does, appears before the press every day and has given African, Ukrainian and Spanish journalists access to the White House... He lets them ask questions first, before the 'sacred cows' of American journalism.'

Trump and Pedro Sánchez

When asked by the editor of Atalayar and president of the International Press Club whether Trump distinguishes between the current Spanish government and Spain as an ally, Alandete was conclusive: 'I know that Trump has a very good impression of Mariano Rajoy, after his visit in 2017, who managed to get the US president to support the unity of Spain against the Catalan separatists. Previously, Spain was the interlocutor with Latin America; now, it is a catastrophe that Spain plays no role in the Venezuela issue.'

Alandete highlighted what happened when the United States recognised Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara and Jared Kushner was asked if he had informed Spain: 'He told us that they did not have to consult Spain about anything.'