European veterans, families of the fallen, and politicians are voicing outrage over Trump's claim NATO allies stayed behind the front lines in Afghanistan.

In an interview Thursday, Trump had claimed troops from non-American NATO countries had stayed off the “front lines” during the war in Afghanistan. The comments drew fierce criticism across Europe, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called them “insulting and frankly, appalling.”

President Trump has set off a firestorm in the United Kingdom and among NATO allies whose troops fought and died in Afghanistan by claiming NATO forces “stayed a little back” from the front lines. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and leaders across the political spectrum,

Trump's NATO challenges push European defense spending pledges, but analysts say continent still lacks command experience to operate independently.

US President Donald Trump has once again questioned whether NATO allies would “be there” if the United States “ever needed them,” claiming that the alliance’s troops “stayed a little back” from the frontlines in Afghanistan.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Trump was “wrong” to diminish the role of NATO and British troops in Afghanistan.