Pete Hegseth tells Europe that the free ride is over

American Thinker ^ | 24 Apr, 2026 | Andrea Widburg

[MtnClimber]

Beginning with Woodrow Wilson’s justification for getting America into WWI, America has been the world’s policeman, a role that escalated after it was the only wealthy nation standing in 1945. However, it’s not 1945 anymore. The Cold War is over, allegiances have shifted, and Europe is not Europe. That’s why it was simply awesome today when Secretary of War Pete Hegseth explicitly told Asia and Europe (although he was clearly speaking to NATO) that the “time for free-riding is over.”

In 1916, when the “Great War” in Europe was already in its second year, Woodrow Wilson won reelection in part by pointing out that he’d kept America out of the war and promising that he would continue to do so. However, for myriad reasons, by 1917, Wilson could no longer maintain that promise.

However, Wilson, a high-minded, racist, eugenics-believing progressive, needed a high-minded reason for tossing young American men into those bloody trenches. America, he said, was a savior. “The world must be made safe for democracy,” and America was the one to do it.

There was no room for self-interest:

We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.

Instead, virtue would be its own reward:

We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them.

Those same principles have guided American warfare ever since. Yes, we entered WWII after Japan attacked us and Germany then declared war on us, but in the aftermath of a war that cost us over 400,000 American lives, we dedicated ourselves to rebuilding a shattered Europe and protecting it from Soviet domination.

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TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: nato

[MtnClimber]

Why should we pledge to protect Europe when they won’t even protect themselves from the muslim hoards. We have our own muslims to worry about.

[TangoLimaSierra]

I like the idea that they pay for the US to stay in NATO.

[redfreedom]

I agree with your opinion. Europe was a lost cause once they let socialism in their front door. It was quite sad that the UK kicked Churchill out of office in favor of socialism.

And Europe as a whole as kicked Christianity out of their house, let wokism in along with the muzzy hoards.

NATO did everything they could to box in Russia whereas Russia became a serious enemy to all of the west. What’s funny here is NATO thought they had that big brother to fight their Russian war for them. Ha ha, Trump entered the room and gave them the middle finger.

[zek157]

I prefer we leave NATO entirely after the eurocrats tried forcing us into WWIII in support of UKR. They are not worth Article 5 protections.

Let them shiver in the warmth provided by a Northern European solar farm on a bright December day.

[Jonty30]

That will go really well when Europe has to inform the migrants their time on welfare is up, so they can have a military.

[bert]

Everybody knows that Russia in no threat to Europe.

The war with Ukraine and in Iran has shown with no doubt that aside from missiles, the Russian weapons and air defense systems are ineffective. All those who purchased the air defense systems know with certainty that they are actually no good.

[enumerated]

Right.

By all rights, Europe should take this opportunity we’ve given them to finish off that evil regime - once and for all - and let President Trump focus on putting America first.

But if they won’t do it - and it looks like they won’t - we have to do it.

There’s more than just freeing the Persians and keeping the Straits open at stake here. The Mullahs in Iran are a big part of what’s allowing the CCP and BRICS to hold a knife to our throat.

I don’t want another protracted war, and I don’t want the politics of that worry to cost us the midterms, but I really wish Trump would just go in there and completely wipe the Mullahs out - Europe or no Europe.

[fso301]

That’s why it was simply awesome today when Secretary of War Pete Hegseth explicitly told Asia and Europe (although he was clearly speaking to NATO) that the “time for free-riding is over.”

What that does is give the Left it's coveted multi-polar world.

[A_perfect_lady]

Europe was a lost cause once they let socialism in their front door. It was quite sad that the UK kicked Churchill out of office in favor of socialism. And Europe as a whole as kicked Christianity out of their house,

Agree. Europe as a whole has made every bad decision in the book, really. Replacing feudalism with socialism or fascism instead of following our example, murdering their Jews only to replace them with Muslims... they're a catastrophe. We're like the child of narcissistic parents who keeps trying to please and save those parents. We need to realize that they have to save themselves, or just let them devolve and wash our hands of it.

[escapefromboston]

LoL

[A_perfect_lady]

Problem is, no one involved would be content with a multi-polar world. The commies and the muzzies would be feverishly arms-racing and undercutting each other in a trice.

[PGalt]

Great article. Thanks for posting. HOORAY Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War.

[Samurai_Jack]

I agree with the sentiment that waiting on Europe is a strategic dead end. We have seen this playbook before. European leadership has a long history of prioritizing their own economic and geopolitical interests by maintaining protracted conflicts and sanctions, which ultimately serve to protect their profitable status quo rather than resolve issues.

We saw this clearly during the era surrounding the Gulf War. It wasn’t just about diplomatic maneuvering; it was about the systemic corruption that allowed certain global elites to thrive while the region remained unstable. The infamous ‘Oil-for-Food’ program is a perfect case study of this dynamic—it became a mechanism for these elites to extract massive profits under the guise of humanitarian aid, effectively turning sanctions into a revenue stream.

Moreover, the protection of Iraqi assets was a recurring theme. There were clear indications that European actors facilitated the movement of Iraqi nuclear materials out of the country and into Syria, effectively shielding those assets from international oversight to preserve their own long-term leverage. Whether it is Iran today or Iraq in the past, the incentive structure for European leadership remains focused on managing, rather than ending, these threats if it keeps the regional architecture favorable to their own financial hierarchies. We shouldn’t expect them to act against their own interests, even if it leaves our national security at risk.

[mewzilla]

It’s a great idea.

But if Europe has been cooking their books to the extent I think they’ve been cooking their books, they can’t afford us.

[FlingWingFlyer]

It’s about time. We’ve carried those peons long enough.

[butlerweave]

The EU will start a new USSR with Russia and Canada’s Carney will want to join ,LOL

[HIDEK6]

Just look at the new global Congo line headed to Texas.

Really?

[HIDEK6]

Hordes.

[FatherofFive]

I like the idea that they pay for the US to stay in NATO.

I don't. If they want to hire mercenaries, let them. Not one drop of blood to defend those who will not defend themselves, and who welcome the Muslims to conquer them.