Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has sparked a diplomatic firestorm with a D-Day anniversary speech in which he accused European nations of opening their borders to a ‘beach invasion’ of migrants. Speaking at a ceremony in Normandy, Hegseth drew a direct parallel between the Allied landings and the current migration crisis, declaring: ‘Our fathers stormed these beaches to liberate Europe from tyranny. Today, Europe sits idle as waves of illegal migrants wash over its shores.’
Whitehall sources expressed dismay at the remarks, which were widely seen as a breach of diplomatic protocol. ‘This is not the tone we expect from an ally on such a solemn occasion,’ a senior Foreign Office official told this reporter. ‘The sacrifice of those who died here is not a political football.’
Hegseth, a former Fox News host known for his hardline stance on immigration, had been invited to deliver a keynote address at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. But his speech quickly veered into territory that diplomats had hoped to avoid. ‘Europe’s leaders have forgotten what they are defending,’ Hegseth said. ‘They have abandoned their own borders. They have abandoned their own people.’
French officials were notably absent from the event, with President Macron sending a junior minister in his place. The Elysee Palace declined to comment on the record, but a source close to Macron’s office said: ‘We do not need lectures from a country that has its own immigration problems.’
The speech comes amid a deepening rift between Washington and Brussels over migration policy. The European Union has struggled to reach a unified response to the influx of asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East, while the Trump administration has slashed refugee admissions and pushed for stricter border controls.
Hegseth’s remarks were not cleared by the State Department, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ‘This was a rogue operation,’ the official said, using military slang. ‘No one in Foggy Bottom signed off on this.’ The Pentagon declined to comment, but a spokesman said the speech reflected Hegseth’s personal views.
The backlash was swift. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office called the comments ‘unhelpful and divisive’. The Italian government, which has borne the brunt of Mediterranean arrivals, said Hegseth’s ‘scare tactics’ were an insult to the sacrifices of Allied soldiers. Even the British government, usually reticent to criticise Washington, issued a measured statement saying it ‘does not agree with the characterisation of migration as an invasion’.
Hegseth’s defenders argue that he was giving voice to a frustration shared by many European voters who feel their governments have lost control of their borders. ‘He said what a lot of people are thinking,’ said a Republican strategist close to the administration. ‘Europe’s migration crisis is a security crisis. And if they won’t talk about it, someone has to.’
But the timing of the speech, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, struck many as deeply insensitive. ‘To use the hallowed ground of Normandy to score political points is beyond the pale,’ said Sir John Holmes, a former British ambassador to France. ‘This will do lasting damage to the transatlantic alliance.’
As the controversy rages, Hegseth shows no sign of backing down. ‘I said what I said,’ he told reporters, refusing to clarify whether he would apologise. ‘History will judge who showed moral clarity.’
But for now, the only judgment that matters is the one coming from the graves of 9,386 Americans who died to liberate a continent that now finds itself embroiled in a very different kind of war. And the silence from those graves is deafening.
