Nigel Farage Says JD Vance Is "Wrong, Wrong, Wrong" After Claims He Insulted British Troops
2 min read
Nigel Farage has said JD Vance was “wrong, wrong, wrong” after the US vice president appeared to describe the prospect of an Anglo-French force in Ukraine as “20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
Vance triggered outrage across the British political spectrum on Tuesday after an interview with Fox News in which he poured scorn over the idea that European countries could provide Ukraine with military protection. Critics said his remarks insulted British troops who served alongside the US in recent conflicts.
The UK and France are currently trying to build a "coalition of the willing" — a group of European countries that will commit to defending militarily a peace deal in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron hope to present US President Donald Trump with a proposed peace deal in the coming days and weeks.
Starmer's official spokesperson said the Prime Minister was "full of admiration" for British troops who served alongside the US during campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Reform UK leader Farage, who has been criticised by rival politicians for not being critical enough of the Trump administration's approach to the war in Ukraine, told GB News that the vice-president was out of order.
“Vance is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. For 20 years in Afghanistan, pro rata our size against America's, we spent the same amount of money, we put the same number of men and women in. We suffered the same losses.
“We stood through those 20 years putting in exactly the same contribution. And all right, they may be six times bigger, but we did our [bit],” he added.
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition, struck a more emollient tone than Farage and did not criticise Vance to the same extent.
Talking to the same news channel, the Conservative leader said she knew Vance well and believed his comments were taken out of context.
"I know JD Vance quite well. I've looked at the comments, I don't think he actually said that.
“A lot of people are getting carried away. They're saying loads of things and getting quite animated let's keep cool heads. America is our closest ally.
“I believe President Trump and JD Vance want peace, they're looking after their national interest, we need to do so as well."
However, this appeared to contradict her shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, who earlier in the day said Vance's words were "deeply disrespectful".
Vance has today described claims that he insulted British troops as "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," he posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
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