European leaders were notably silent on Tuesday following the text exchange between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, who noted their “loathing” of their long-standing allies.
“I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC,” Hegseth said in response to Vance, who questioned U.S. leadership in advancing security policies in the Red Sea to counter Houthi aggression and reopen shipping lanes.
Vance broke from President Donald Trump, who directed the U.S. to ramp up strikes against the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen which, backed by Iran, began escalating attacks on merchant ships along the major trade route following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
President Donald Trump is taking action against the Houthis to defend U.S. shipping assets and deter terrorist threats, the White House posted on X on March 15, 2025. (The White House)
Ultimately, Mendoza argued, there would be an “element of hypocrisy” if Europe were to try and push back on the comment.
“So I think a lot of Europeans, while not liking the way this conversation has unfolded…can’t actually dispute the substance, even if we don’t like the methodology for this conversation,” he added. “And therefore, it is probably better to say little about it than to risk this sort of bigger argument about burden sharing, once again, coming to the fore.”
In the Signal text exchange, the administration officials said that “further economic gain” would need to be “extracted in return” for the U.S. taking the operational lead – which some British lawmakers took issue with, noting the Trump administration’s renewed attempt to “extort” money from its allies.
Additionally, the leader of the U.K.’s Liberal-Democrats, typically a more centrist party to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, took to X to say the text exchange showed, “JD Vance and his mates clearly aren’t fit to run a group chat, let alone the world’s strongest military force. It has to make our security services nervous about the intelligence we’re sharing with them.”
Though the official responses from nations looking to make inroads with Trump, like the U.K. and France, maintained they will continue to pursue “cooperation” with Washington.
The U.K. – whose navy and air force have been heavily involved in countering Houthi aggression in the Red Sea alongside the U.S. – told Fox News Digital, “The U.S. is our primary ally, and we cooperate more closely than any other two nations on defense, intelligence, and security.”
The British-registered cargo ship Rubymar is seen sinking on March 3 after it was targeted by Yemen’s Houthi forces while traveling in the Red Sea. ( Al-Joumhouriah channel via Getty Images)
“The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to secure shipping in the Red Sea and has conducted a series of U.K. and joint U.K.-U.S. strikes over the past two years – helping to diminish Houthi rebel assets in the region,” a British Embassy spokesperson said. “Prime Minister [Keir] Starmer has been clear about the need for European nations to step up their security contribution and the U.K. has led with announcing a major increase in defense spending and committing U.K. troops to a future Ukraine peace keeping force.”
Similarly, a spokesman for the French Embassy said, “France is not in the habit of commenting on reported remarks, no matter how surprising they may be. The United States is our ally and France intends to continue cooperating with Washington.”
