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US defense secretary attacks European allies in D-Day speech

Jun 7, 2026, 6:20pm EDT
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine hold a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

The US Defense secretary attacked European immigration policies in a speech commemorating the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, reflecting the growing rift between Washington and its transatlantic allies.

Speaking in France on Saturday, Pete Hegseth decried a modern “invasion” of “boats and men,” one day after the US vice president blamed a British teenager’s murder on “mass migration.”

Both sets of remarks drew pushback and rekindled broader European anxieties over the stability of the continent’s US-led security arrangements.

Europe is “now spending real money on defense,” Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer told Ezra Klein, but “they’re not spending on the American military-industrial complex.” Instead, countries like Poland are plowing funds into their own defense firms.

Chart showing select NATO defense spending as share of GDP since 2015
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