'Crossed A Red Line': Trump Sparks Outrage Across Europe Over Remarks On NATO Troops In Afghanistan

Last Updated:January 23, 2026, 22:09 IST

Trump sparked widespread outrage across Europe after suggesting that NATO stayed "a little off the front lines" during the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan.

US President Donald Trump (Photo: AP)

US President Donald Trump sparked widespread outrage across Europe after he suggested that NATO stayed “a little off the front lines" during the war in Afghanistan. Politicians and veterans criticised Trump and said hundreds of their soldiers had died fighting alongside American forces.

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Trump said the United States had “never needed" the transatlantic alliance and accused allies of staying “a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines," he said.

His remarks added to already strained relations with European allies after he used the World Economic Forum in Davos to assert his interest in acquiring Greenland. The European Union has already paused a trade deal with the US as leaders warned against any unilateral moves that could destabilise the transatlantic alliance.

‘Crossed A Red Line’

Several politicians across Europe called Trump’s remarks “disgraceful", “wrong" and an “insult" to the contributions of NATO soldiers. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said Trump had been “wrong to diminish the role of NATO troops" during two decades of war, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called his remarks “flat-out nonsense."

“I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured," Starmer said, adding that had he misspoken in such a way that “I would certainly apologise."

Badenoch said, “British, Canadian, and NATO troops fought and died alongside the US for 20 years. This is a fact, not opinion. Their sacrifice deserves respect, not denigration." The UK’s Health and Social Care Minister Stephen Kinnock has suggested Starmer would speak to Trump about the remarks.

Families of soldiers killed or wounded in the war also criticised Trump’s remarks, calling them “humiliating" and “soul-destroying", according to BBC. “We expect an apology for this statement," Roman Polko, a retired Polish general and former special forces commander who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told Reuters.

Polko affirmed that Trump “crossed a red line" with his remarks, adding, “We paid with blood for this alliance. We truly sacrificed our own lives."

Britain’s veterans minister, Alistair Carns, who toured Afghanistan five times, called Trump’s claims “utterly ridiculous". He said, “We shed blood, sweat and tears together. Not everybody came home."

Ed Davey, leader of Britain’s centrist Liberal Democrats, said Trump had himself avoided military service five times during the Vietnam War. “How dare he question their sacrifice," he said, adding that PM Starmer should demand an apology from the US president over his “unacceptable remarks".

Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the country’s service will never be forgotten and should not be diminished. “Poland is a reliable and proven ally, and nothing will change that," he said.

White House Doubles Down

Despite the backlash in Europe, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly doubled down on Trump’s claims and said American contributions “dwarfed" those of other countries.

“President Trump is right – America’s contributions to NATO dwarf that of other countries, and his success in delivering a five percent spending pledge from NATO allies is helping Europe take greater responsibility for its own defence. The United States is the only NATO partner who can protect Greenland, and the President is advancing NATO interests in doing so," she said in a presser.

Trump has consistently and repeatedly criticised as not “paying their fair share". During his Davos speech, Trump claimed that NATO continues to exist because of his leadership, and that the alliance would have collapsed without him.

What Happened In Afghanistan?

Under NATO’s founding treaty, members are bound by a collective-defence clause, Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all. It was invoked after the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001, after which European allies joined the US-led mission in Afghanistan.

On its website, NATO says it went into Afghanistan to “ensure that the country would not again become a safe haven for terrorists to attack NATO member countries". The US lost about 2,460 troops in Afghanistan, and 457 British military personnel were also killed from over 150,000 it had deployed.

More than 150 Canadians were also killed along with 90 French personnel, while Denmark lost 44 troops. NATO formally ended its combat mission in December 2014, but kept a 13,000-strong force there to help train Afghan forces and support counter-terrorism operations.

News world 'Crossed A Red Line': Trump Sparks Outrage Across Europe Over Remarks On NATO Troops In Afghanistan

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