‘Random country’: Vance remark sparks outrage in UK
“I saw first-hand how American and British soldiers fought bravely together shoulder to shoulder,” she said. “Six of my own regiment, the Royal Military Police, didn’t return home from Iraq. This is a sinister attempt to deny that reality.”
It is the only time NATO’s Article 5 has been invoked, which holds that members of the alliance will come to the defence of an ally under attack.
Nigel Farage said JD Vance was wrong.Credit: Getty Images
Farage, the Reform UK leader – who has closely aligned himself with the White House on the majority of issues – said Vance was “wrong, wrong, wrong”.
“For 20 years in Afghanistan pro rata, our size against America’s, we spent the same amount of money, we put the same number of men and women in, we suffered the same losses.
“We stood by America all through those 20 years putting in exactly the same contribution. And alright, they may be six times bigger, but we did our bit. So, on this one J. D. is wrong.”
Vance has been sharpening his teeth as Trump’s foreign policy pitbull, and Europe is in his sights. At last month’s Munich Security Conference, he threw down a blistering attack, singling out Europe –Germany, especially – for stifling free speech and sidelining parties daring to speak out on immigration. European leaders were left stunned by his blunt, combative tone.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance during their explosive meeting in the Oval Office.Credit: Bloomberg
Last Friday, he broke ranks, blasting Ukrainian President Zelensky during a tense Oval Office meeting with Trump that left allies in shock. The visit was supposed to kick off a deal to invest in Ukrainian minerals and pave the way for a ceasefire with Russia. Instead, Trump booted Zelensky from the White House and slashed US military aid.
His public comments have sewn grave doubt that the US is likely to back an Anglo-French “reassurance force” in Ukraine, with Trump’s obsession over avoiding World War III making such a commitment a non-starter.
Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto called for the creation of a “European Defence Union” on Tuesday to reinforce the continent’s security amid growing jitters about the Trump administration’s commitment to NATO.
“We are living in a dramatic geopolitical and historical moment,” Crosetto wrote in a social media post, as he called for “the construction of a common European defence”.
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Yet Starmer insists no deal can succeed without American support. If the US wavers on this, Western unity — so far as it exists any more — will fracture entirely.
Moscow has no reason to negotiate as it gains the upper hand on the battlefield, leaving Europe to figure out how to fill the gap. Amid this, Starmer will struggle to maintain his public alignment with Washington. The pressure will mount as the situation becomes increasingly unsustainable.
