Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth marked the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, on Saturday by accusing Western European capitals of letting an “invasion” of migrants reach their shores and warning that the U.S. expects more from its allies.
Speaking at the American memorial honoring the U.S. service members who took part in the 1944 invasion that helped turn the tide of World War II, Hegseth said the alliance that won the war was built on each country pulling its weight and contrasted that with what he called the complacency of “much of the West” today.
“Each nation pulled its weight, each nation bled,” Hegseth said. “America will lead, and we must, but capable allies must be right there with us, shoulder to shoulder in the breach when it matters.”
NATO leaders agreed at last year's summit in the Hague to raise core defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, with another 1.5% going to security-related areas like infrastructure and cyber defense. The Trump administration has pushed both European and Asian allies to meet that target faster.
Only three NATO countries — Poland, Lithuania and Latvia — spent more than 3.5% of GDP on defense in 2025, according to BBC analysis of NATO estimates, although every member of the alliance hit the previous 2% target. The U.S. spent about $980 billion last year, roughly 60% of NATO’s total — but at 3.2% of its own GDP, it too fell short of the new target.
Hegseth said that “different European beaches” are now being “stormed by different dangerous ideologies,” naming Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria.
“Boats and men arrive,” he said. “When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late?”
He answered his own question: “I pray not, and I believe not.”
European countries along the Mediterranean have seen large numbers of migrants arrive by boat from North Africa in recent years, an issue that has fueled the rise of right-wing parties across the continent.
Hegseth closed by quoting former President Ronald Reagan: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. You don’t pass it to the next generation in the bloodstream. It must be defended by each and every generation.”
“We stand by our allies,” Hegseth added. “And we expect our allies capable and ready to stand alongside us.”
The remarks land just one week after Hegseth used a major security summit in Singapore to publicly criticize NATO allies for relying on U.S. protection. At the Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth told European governments that “Europe and NATO have some big decisions to make” and accused them of “moralizing” instead of investing in their own defense.
The administration’s own troop posture in Europe has been chaotic. Trump ordered 5,000 U.S. troops pulled out of Germany last month, then announced he would send 5,000 to Poland just weeks later. The back-and-forth has already cost U.S. taxpayers at least $32 million in shipping fees, U.S. Transportation Command told the AP. Trump has separately threatened to pull the United States out of NATO altogether.
