Vance isn’t going to back down from a fight. Especially when the media is involved.
And Vice President Vance destroys the fake news media with this statement.
A storm of indignation swept through British commentary circles overnight, ignited by what some saw as a slight against the UK’s armed forces from U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
The uproar prompted a swift clarification from Vance, who insisted his comments about “random country” militaries were aimed not at Britain or France, but at Europe’s roster of tiny states with largely symbolic defense forces.
The flare-up stemmed from Vance’s Monday night appearance on Fox News, where he argued: “…the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine, that is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
With Britain and France standing as the only European nations firmly committed to a potential Ukraine peacekeeping force, some quickly assumed Vance was taking a jab at London and Paris.
Yet, any such mission would demand wider European support — a reality that highlights the continent’s patchwork of small, often untested militaries.
The UK and France, by contrast, have been battle-hardened through near-constant conflict since the Cold War’s end.
Britain’s significant role in the Iraq War — a conflict where Vance himself served as a U.S. Marine military journalist — makes it hard to believe he’d overlook their track record. Still, the initial misreading of his words lit a match under British pride.
Vance moved to douse the flames, responding to a journalist’s quip about “Bad news for Starmer and Macron” with a firm rebuttal:
“This is absurdly dishonest. I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.”
Far from retreating, though, he sharpened his point, casting doubt on the capabilities of Europe’s lesser players: “But let’s be direct: there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful.”
The numbers tell a stark story. The U.S. dwarfs its allies with a defense budget nearing $1 trillion annually.
Britain, France, and Germany each hover around $100 billion, while other NATO members lag far behind. Spain allocates $21 billion — just 1.2% of its GDP — while Slovenia scrapes by with under $1 billion, or 1.3% of GDP.
Even Belgium, hosting NATO’s headquarters, manages only $8.5 billion, also 1.3% of its economy. These gaps fuel Vance’s skepticism about who can truly deliver in a crisis.
In Britain, the perceived dig — however unintended — drew venomous reactions by Tuesday morning, as reported by The Daily Telegraph. A former British Army chief from the Iraq War era fired off a scathing, “What planet is this guy on?”
An ex-Conservative defense minister went further, branding Vance a “clown.” Across the Channel, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu took to Parliament to defend his nation’s honor, declaring: “We respect the veterans of all the allied countries, we want our own veterans respected.”
What began as a casual remark on American TV has spiraled into a transatlantic spat, exposing raw nerves over military prowess and alliance burdens.
But Vance’s clarification proves that journalists and the media alike are quick to twist words in order to spark outrage.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
