PARIS (AP) — During D-Day anniversary commemorations in France on Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drew parallels between current European migration patterns and the historic Allied invasion, suggesting that the liberty secured by World War II forces might be fleeting without proper defense.
At the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer in northwestern France, Hegseth addressed the 82nd anniversary of the June 6, 1944, Allied landings, stating that in present times, “different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies.”
“Beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive,” he said.
“When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late?” he added. “I pray not, and I believe not.”
While the Defense Secretary avoided directly mentioning immigration, his comments reflected the current administration’s broader critique of European handling of migration issues, border security, and what American officials characterize as suppression of nationalist and far-right perspectives.
The same day, the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized U.S. Vice President JD Vance for connecting immigration to the death of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old British student who was fatally stabbed in Southampton, despite both the victim and perpetrator being British citizens.
Last December, the current administration’s national security strategy document cautioned that Europe confronts the “prospect of civilizational erasure” and risks becoming “unrecognizable” over the next two decades.
