Historians and campaigners accused United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of desecrating the memory of the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, after he used a D-Day commemoration speech on Saturday to warn that Europe faces an "invasion" of dangerous ideologies arriving by sea.
Hegseth did not explicitly mention immigration, but the remarks, delivered on the 82nd anniversary of the World War II allied landings on French beaches that proved decisive in the defeat of Nazi Germany, reiterate criticism often voiced by the US administration about Europe's migration policies and border security.
"Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies," Hegseth said."Beaches in Spain, in Italy, in Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion?"
The remarks were swiftly condemned on social media. The Guardian quoted the English historian, author and television presenter Simon Schama describing the remarks as "a special kind of loathsomeness: a blend of historical deafness, grotesque stupidity and comically ludicrous self-importance."
Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and former senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said in a social media post that the remarks were "nonsense" and that "immigration policies are internal matters".
