Australia has joined a growing chorus of anger – from France, the UK and Denmark, among others – over comments by US President Donald Trump suggesting NATO allies had stayed 'a little bit off the front lines' during the war in Afghanistan.
Trumps's remarks before the weekend have drawn sharp rebukes from European partners and forced a partial retreat from the White House.
The backlash was swift and wide-ranging, stretching from Paris to Canberra, and comes just as tensions over Greenland had begun to ease.
For many US allies, the comments struck a nerve, reopening painful memories of a conflict that claimed thousands of lives across the alliance.
In France, the reaction was blunt, with the entourage of President Emmanuel Macron saying the remarks were “unacceptable” and required no further comment, stressing instead that the head of state wished to express solidarity with the families of fallen soldiers and to reaffirm “the nation’s gratitude and respectful remembrance”.
France lost 89 service personnel in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014 – a toll that Paris says reflects its sustained military commitment alongside US forces.
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Trump made the controversial remarks in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, criticising other NATO members’ contributions during the 20-year conflict and claiming the United States “never needed them”.
The comments prompted an immediate response in London. After speaking with Prime Minister Keir Starmer – who publicly described the remarks as “insulting” – Mr Trump sought to calm the diplomatic storm by singling out British troops for praise.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president hailed the “GREAT and VERY BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom”, noting that 457 British troops were killed and many more wounded in Afghanistan.
“They were among the greatest warriors,” he wrote, adding that the bond between the two countries was “too strong to ever be broken”.
However, while Britain was explicitly acknowledged, Mr Trump made no similar gesture towards other allies who fought and died in the conflict. The UK suffered the second-highest number of casualties after the United States, with around 2,400 deaths.
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Allies accuse Trump of disrespect
Beyond Europe, Australia – a close US partner but not a NATO member – also condemned the remarks on Sunday. Canberra deployed nearly 40,000 troops to the US-led coalition between 2001 and 2021, following the 11 September attacks.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the comments as “totally unacceptable”, rejecting any suggestion that Australian forces had avoided combat. “They were certainly on the front line, alongside our other allies, defending democracy and freedom, as well as defending our national interests,” he said.
Other European leaders were equally forthright. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “astonished” by Mr Trump’s remarks and demanded “respect”, despite being regarded as an ally of the US president.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk recalled attending a farewell ceremony in 2011 for five Polish soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Writing on X, he said American officers present at the time had promised that the United States would never forget Poland’s fallen. “Perhaps they will remind President Trump of this,” he added.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it was “unacceptable for the American president to question the commitment of allied soldiers in Afghanistan”, underlining growing strain in Copenhagen’s relationship with Washington.
The reaction has been particularly intense among Danish veterans. The Danish Veterans’ Association said it was “speechless” and announced plans for a silent march in Copenhagen on Saturday 31 January.
Association vice-president Soren Knudsen described the remarks as a “betrayal”. “We’ve gone from offensive remarks to rude remarks. And now we feel that this is a betrayal,” he told reporters. Mr Knudsen served in southern Afghanistan in 2006 and later as deputy commander of a NATO mission in 2012, composed mainly of American troops.
According to Denmark’s armed forces, 44 Danish soldiers died in Afghanistan – 37 in combat and seven from illness, accidents or other injuries.
The row also revives memories of an earlier diplomatic rift, after US Vice-President JD Vance said during a visit to the American base in Pituffik, Greenland, in March 2025 that Denmark was a “bad ally”.
(with newswires)
