Images of tens of thousands of people illegally crossing from Morocco to Ceuta (and Melilla) this Thursday, by land and sea, have gone viral worldwide, generating the beginnings of a diplomatic crisis between Spain and Italy and pushing conservative politicians across the continent to rush out to criticize Pedro Sánchez or call for the closure of the Schengen area. But they have also generated an unexpected impact in the United States, both inside and outside Donald Trump’s government.
Read more Morocco, the enemy lurking
Politicians, analysts, journalists, and MAGA influencers, as well as thousands of bots on social media, placed what happened in our country at the center of the debate thanks to a perfect cocktail. The animosity towards the Spanish government, affinity with Morocco, and above all the tailored fit of what happened with Donald Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and his followers, who for years have been focused on a catastrophic narrative about Europe, Islam, and civilizational suicide. But also for very clear reasons of national politics. “The Democrats did this to America every day for four years under Biden and will do it again instantly, but on a much larger scale, if given any form of national power. The Democrats will see their home trampled and stolen by invaders and will rejoice,” wrote last night Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s main advisors and the brain behind his immigration policies, commenting on a video from Ceuta.
It is no secret that relations between the White House and Moncloa are bad, very bad. The differences are ideological but worsened by clashes over Defense spending and NATO or the lack of permission to use the Rota and Morón bases in the war in Iran. Not to mention Spain’s position regarding Palestine, which not only goes against the preferences of the State Department but has also triggered criticism from congressmen, senators, and members of think tanks or lobbies more aligned with Israel.
But the reaction to what happened in Ceuta has gone much further. “President Trump has long warned Europe about what would happen if they continue implementing far-left and globalist policies, including those facilitating mass migration. Spain and other countries that have adopted this destructive philosophy should reverse course immediately or risk their own disappearance,” said a White House spokesperson on Thursday, emphasizing one of Trump’s major obsessions, who for years has been predicting a civilizational suicide by European governments.
That is also Elon Musk’s language, not only the richest man on the planet and the first billionaire but owner of the most influential social network for politicians, analysts, journalists, and trolls. “Looks like World War Z,” Musk wrote on X comparing the images of Ceuta with those from the virus-affected movie starring Brad Pitt. “That they are all men of military age means this is an invasion,” “Spain’s entire budget will be destroyed by illegal migrants. It’s basic math: if Spain offers free things to migrants who are above 90% of the Earth’s living standard, they create a force function for 90% of the Earth to move to Spain, which is about 7 billion people!” he added in another of the dozens of tweets dedicated to what happened. “Wake up before it’s too late,” he insisted, commenting on a poll about whether “the West will ever wake up from its Suicide Empathy stupor.”
But this time the buzz in Washington has gone beyond that. While the images of Ceuta were going viral worldwide, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, published an enthusiastic congratulatory message to the King of Morocco on the anniversary of his coronation, emphasizing the ties between the two nations and pointing to US support for the historical claims over the Sahara. “For nearly 250 years, the United States and Morocco have shared the longest friendship in American history. It is a strong and lasting alliance, based on shared values and a common commitment to peace, security, and prosperity,” the message says. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States has been unequivocal: we recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and support Morocco’s autonomy proposal, serious, credible, and realistic, as the only basis for a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution. Any other path prolongs the status quo and is unacceptable. Genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty offers this region and the continent the opportunity to finally move forward after 50 years. This dispute must end now, and the United States will continue working to achieve that goal,” Rubio adds, highlighting that “Morocco has been a pillar of regional stability and security,” ironically while Rabat provoked a security crisis and disrupted southern Europe’s stability in retaliation for Pedro Sánchez’s trip to Algeria, the day after the Spanish national team’s World Cup victory.
The message pinned on President Trump’s social network is precisely a thank you to the King of Morocco for dedicating and naming a long highway after him, with a message expressing his wish to travel it soon himself.
But the reactions in the United States have been many more. Practically every influencer, podcaster, commentator, and conservative columnist has spoken out on the issue. Thousands and thousands of accounts, real with millions of followers or bots, spent hours opining, disinforming, or seeking to fuel tension. “Spain could be heading towards a civil war. This is not just a border dispute. Spain was under Muslim rule for centuries before the Christian kingdoms fought for generations to reclaim the peninsula. Morocco still disputes Spain’s control over Ceuta and Melilla today. The past has a way of resurfacing on its own,” said, for example, the account of businessman Patrick Bet-David, with one and a half million followers. “Breaking news: explosions reported in Spain,” wrote another account of a retired military officer with 700,000 followers
Michael Rubin, former Pentagon advisor during the Iraq war and specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, one of Washington’s most influential conservative think tanks, has been urging Morocco for months to order a new Green March. “If Spain returned occupied Ceuta and Melilla to their legitimate Moroccan sovereignty, Madrid would not be in this mess,” he tweeted yesterday. “Moroccans should regroup, send excavators to the border, and then enter Ceuta and Melilla unarmed to raise the flag. Sánchez and the Spanish press protest, but they have no grounds to act. NATO wouldn’t either, not even if Moroccan forces entered the cities to restore order and organize the transfer of settlers across the Strait of Gibraltar back to Spain,” he wrote in March in an essay summarizing the position of a significant part of the neoconservative world.
An unofficial position, but with growing sympathy among other circles of the Washington right, which move between a curious ambiguity. On one hand, they denounce the images talking about “invasion,” despising those they call “invaders,” warning about the danger of Islam. But at the same time, they focus their criticism on the Spanish government, not on the King who has allowed or rather instigated the crossing of borders and fences and who is an ally of Washington.
In May, in the record of a Congressional Appropriations Committee report, Florida Republican Mario Díaz-Balart, of Cuban origin, inserted a paragraph to position himself with the idea that “the cities under Spanish administration of Ceuta and Melilla are located in Moroccan territory and are subject to an old claim by Morocco. The Committee supports the Secretary of State’s efforts to urge a diplomatic commitment between Morocco and Spain on the future status of Ceuta and Melilla.” Díaz-Balart later used the argument in interviews to attack the Spanish government, a warning about the consequences of antagonizing the most powerful country on the planet.
“It is civilizational suicide. The Left hates the West and is actively working to destroy it forever,” tweeted influential Texas Senator Ted Cruz on Thursday. “That’s what I call an invasion,” he added. “Spain’s socialist prime minister announced he would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. Now, his country is being invaded by hordes of military-age men from Africa. Because that’s what happens every time a politician offers amnesty,” agreed Congressman Brandon Gill from the same state.
“What a joke. Another failed European leader complicit in the destruction of his own country and culture,” reacted journalist and now streamer Laura Ingraham, one of the best-known conservative commentators and a voice close to the MAGA movement. “Goodbye, Spain. This is what damn leftist governments do,” criticized Mark. R. Levin, who worked in the Reagan administration, now host of one of the country’s most listened-to conservative radio programs and very belligerent with Sánchez over his position on Israel.
“We told you Sánchez was a disaster. You dismissed the warnings because he vilified Israel, defended Hamas, attacked America, and cozied up to Chávez, Jamenei, and other anti-American dictators. Now that his immigration policies are threatening Europe at home, suddenly you have woken up. Anyone who defends terrorists, Islamists, and communists will be a disaster for your country. Iron law of history,” gloated with the images Mark Dubowitz, one of Washington’s most aggressive foreign policy analysts on the Middle East and National Security as executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“Pedro Sánchez is a corrupt son of a bitch who is in Soros’s pocket, but where the FUCK is the king and why isn’t he intervening?” wrote yesterday Joey Mannarino, a strategist and content creator who has become a known figure within the MAGA ecosystem. Right after, he posted an image of Pedro Sánchez with George Soros’s son and the comment: “Pedro Sánchez will do nothing to stop the invasion. This is the reason.”
