Europe tight-lipped following Hegseth, Vance 'loathing' text exchange

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Hegseth blasts Atlantic article: 'Nobody was texting war plans'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempts to set the record straight on the Atlantic article.

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)

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Following the offensive push earlier this month, Vance, in a Signal group chat, texted the U.S.’s top security officials, including Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliff, among others, that only "3 percent of U.S. trade runs through the [Suez Canal]. 40 percent of European trade does." 

"There is a real risk that the public doesn't understand this," he added in reference to the route that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and which is vital in connecting shipping from Europe, the Middle East and Asia. "I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now."

"If you think we should do it let's go. I just hate bailing Europe out again," he added.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France's President Emmanuel Macron meet in London, March 2, 2025. (Justin Tallis/Pool via Reuters)

However, despite the degrading comments regarding the U.S. top allies, European leaders were noticeably tight-lipped in their response when Fox News Digital reached out for comment, and public statements were nearly non-existent.

The lack of public retort could suggest Europe is biting its tongue while it evaluates how to maintain a relationship with an administration that routinely argues against the value of its long-standing European allies.  

"Reality is that there is certainly an element of European freeloading on relying on America as the one country that has the capability to really take on the Houthis in a major way and drive them out," Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, an international affairs think tank based in London told Fox News Digital. "The Houthis are a desert dwelling ragtag bunch of terrorists, and most European countries do not have the capabilities to deal with that sort of situation. 

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb 7, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"That tells you how bare Europe's military cupboard is," he continued. "The idea that 50 years ago that would have been the case would have been laughable, but it’s here today."

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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 sinks on March 3 after it was targeted by Yemen's Houthi forces while traveling in the Red Sea. (?Al-Joumhouriah channel via Getty Images)

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"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."