After visits by Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, top European officials threw “a temper tantrum” in the words of one observer, which featured wailing, gnashing of teeth,

I gathered two things from Vice President J. D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarks in Europe. First, Europe was not doing enough militarily for Ukraine, its own defense

The US president has upended America's longstanding support for Ukraine and sidelined Europe in the process. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth says European security is no longer a US priority. Vice-President JD Vance attacks the very nature of European democracy.

Speeches delivered by J. D. Vance and Pete Hegseth were not just verbal lashings of America’s allies but a wholesale rejection of eighty years of U.S. foreign policy.

Trump spoke on the phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the conflict, a development that caught Europe by surprise. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced, als

While Hegseth stressed that the U.S. remains committed to NATO – "full stop" – three points that he emphasized created greater doubts. The ball is now in Europe's court to address those three points with initiatives at the NATO summit,

The defense secretary’s instructions, which were given before President Trump’s blowup with the Ukrainian president, are apparently part of an effort to draw Russia into talks on the war.

Remember when Pete Hegseth’s line on Ukraine was panned as a “rookie mistake”? His error has apparently become the official White House line.

The defense secretary is said to have halted operations against Russia as part of a reset in ties between Washington and Moscow.

In general Europeans are glumly conceding the Trump team has a point, at least on Ukraine and defense matters.

A post shared on X claims Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that it would take seven years to build the necessary ships to confront Russia. Verdict: False Hegeseth said that the U.S. should increase its shipbuilding pace and lower procurement from seven years to three years.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed senior Pentagon officials and military leaders to forge plans that would result in an 8 percent cut to the defense budget for each year over the next five years.