Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spared no one’s feelings when he tore into America’s NATO allies while announcing there would be a new six-month review of U.S. military troop deployments in Europe, accusing the alliance of being a “paper tiger” on June 18, 2026. Hegseth ripped defense ministers at NATO headquarters located in Brussels, Belgium, telling them the review will make sure the alliance moves “fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading.”
The secretary did not clarify if it will end in a drawdown of U.S. deployments to Europe, though he did inform NATO allies that they need to “step up.” Hegseth went on to say, “President Trump has been very clear on this point for many years and over two administrations. And for too long, NATO has been a paper tiger and a one-way street. No more.”
Hegseth then said that the alliance needs to become a “NATO 3.0 modeled on the NATO 1.0 that won the Cold War,” going on to add that NATO’s framers, which included former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “always expected” Europe to lead the coalition. He then made the claim that the current version of NATO has drifted away from its original intended mission and is focusing on “gender equity and climate change and defense austerity” instead.
“NATO lost its way,” he told NATO leadership, according to a report from The Hill. “NATO 2.0 was an era of distraction, deindustrialization and demilitarization. It was an era of free riding, and those were lost years that we’re not going back to. And that’s why, at the Department of War, we’ve been so clear and so candid to restore NATO’s core military role and character.”
He then informed the allies that America’s monetary dues to NATO will depend on other member nations meeting their own respective defense spending targets. If allies “do not spend with urgency,” the U.S. will lower the amount of money it invests in NATO. The secretary then slammed NATO allies for not backing the U.S. in the Iran war, accusing them of attempting to “drown us in arcane legal debates, or criticized us publicly for doing what they aren’t prepared or able to do themselves.”
At the start of the conflict, which began with a joint strike between the U.S. and Israel against Iran, there were several European allies that refused to allow the U.S. to use their bases for aircraft deployment to the Middle East. President Donald Trump referred to NATO as a “paper tiger” over Europe’s stance concerning the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed down during the conflict.
The administration has since announced that it would be reducing the presence of U.S. troops by 5,000 in both Poland and Germany, though it did say that it would send another 5,000 to Poland after the move received bipartisan backlash. Earlier in June, the U.S. informed its allies in Europe that it would lower the number of fighter jets and warships it provides for NATO operations.
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One individual who commented on the video wrote, “Bet some were nervously moving in their chairs,” as Hegseth delivered the dressing down. Another person slammed America’s European allies, saying, “Who made them elite? The USA. Let China or Russia or Islam have it. What exactly does Europe bring to our table?? Absolutely nothing.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video