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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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British MP Nigel Farage, an ally of President Donald Trump, has issued a surprise condemnation of Vice President JD Vance over comments which appeared to insult Britain's military service.
Farage, leader of the party Reform UK, responded to Vance's remarks on Fox News dismissing an offer for British and French troops to uphold a peace in Ukraine.
Vance disparaged any cessation of hostilities being overseen from "random countries that haven't fought a war in 30 or 40 years."
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Farage said on Tuesday: "JD Vance is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong," adding that for 20 years, British troops had fought alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan in which the U.K. "stood by America."
Vance posted on X that he did not mention the U.K. or France by name in his interview and he described the portrayal of his comments as a swipe against NATO allies as "absurdly dishonest." Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
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Why it matters
A regular fixture at Trump campaign rallies, Farage's brand of populism is aligned with the current GOP administration.
But the British MP has been accused of acting as the U.S. president's "spokesman in Britain" for refusing to criticize Trump and Vance's spat with Ukrainian leader Volodymr Zelensky.
However, casting aspersions on Britain's military seems to be a bridge too far for Farage who appears prepared to risk his warm ties to the Trump-Vance team with these comments.
What to know
Vance told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity that the previous Biden administration had left the Trump team with a difficult situation in Ukraine by providing weapons without an adequate plan to end the fighting.
He said "hope" or "throwing money at a terrible conflict" was not a strategy and that Trump was the only one who had a viable plan to end hostilities.
Vance also said that the best security guarantees to prevent Putin from invading again would be to make it worthwhile financially for the U.S. via a deal to exploit Ukrainian critical minerals.
This would be better than sending 20,000 troops "from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years," added Vance, referring to one proposal for a European force to oversee a ceasefire.
Last month, British prime minister Keir Starmer said he was willing to send British troops to Ukraine to help guarantee its security, should there be a ceasefire but provided no details. French president Emmanuel Macron has also not ruled out sending troops.
When asked about the comments, Farage noted how British troops had stood alongside the U.S. for the last two decades making the same pro rata contribution as the U.S. in troops and expenditure for its size. "We did our bit so on this one JD is wrong."
In the widely viewed clip, Farage did not refer to British troops fighting alongside American soldiers in Iraq.
Vance's comments have exercised British media commentators but the vice president posted on X that he did not mention the U.K. or France by name in his interview. He described the portrayal of his comments as a swipe against its NATO allies as "absurdly dishonest."
What people are saying
British MP Nigel Farage: "JD Vance is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. For 20 years in Afghanistan, pro rate, our size against America's, we spent the same amount of money, we put the same number of men and women in and we suffered the same losses."
U.S Vice President JD Vance on X: "This is 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."
What happens next
Vance has rejected the way his comments about a peace deal in Ukraine have been characterized, but they will add to criticism that the Trump administration faces over how a ceasefire can take place. Meanwhile, Trump's pausing of military aid for Ukraine raised questions about Kyiv's ability to defend itself against Russian aggression and sparked criticism from European leaders.
Even Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right party Rassemblement National (RN), told Le Figaro that the move was "very cruel for Ukrainian soldiers engaged in a patriotic defense of their country."
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