Every year, there’s an event in France to honor the anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, and every year, a prominent U.S. official speaks at the commemoration ceremony to honor those who helped save the world.
The ceremonies are never controversial. This year, however, was an exception.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration decided to dispatch Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to speak at this year’s event, and there was pushback before he even arrived in France. A local group in Normandy issued a statement criticizing the Pentagon chief’s role at the event, arguing, “This individual carries values contrary to democracy, human rights and peace.”
Soon after, the former Fox News host delivered his comments, at which point things went from bad to worse. NBC News reported:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a speech marking the anniversary of D-Day in France on Saturday, commemorating 82 years since the 1944 push to liberate Nazi-occupied Europe, to lambast what he described as another “invasion” of Europe’s shores.
“Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies,” Hegseth said in a speech at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. “Beaches in Spain, in Italy, in Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion, or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not.”