VP Vance Addresses American Troops Abroad in the UK at RAF Fairford

Vice President JD Vance spoke to American troops Wednesday afternoon at RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force station in the United Kingdom used by the United States Air Force.

Vance’s visit came as part of a multi-day trip to the UK, which has included vacation time and taking meetings, including with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and MP Nigel Farage, the Leader of Reform UK (formerly known as the Brexit Party).

Against a backdrop of a large American flag and a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, Vance spoke to an audience of around a couple hundred inside a hangar at the station.

Vance spoke about the US-UK relationship and described the United Kingdom as “one of our great allies”. He stated “every time a great victory is won for freedom and for peace and for prosperity, it is almost always the Brits and the Americans” that do it together, and that “we win every single time we go to war together”. He said the relationship “cuts across political alliances”, political parties and generations.

Vance said during his time in the UK he worked with Foreign Secretary Lammy about the war between Russia and Ukraine, describing the matter as “one of our most important shared security goals in Europe”.

The vice president said the Trump administration’s mission is to “bring peace to Europe once again”. He emphasized the role of the U.S. military “to back up the peace” against potential adversaries when pursuing peacemaking efforts, and stated that the troops “make it possible for us to accomplish the president’s goals through negotiation”.

“You guys are the reason why we can go into a negotiation with strength. You guys are the reason why we have leverage in these conversations with world leaders, because they know that if we cut a deal, it is backed up by the finest fighting force anywhere in the world, and that is what makes your job so important” Vance said to the troops during his roughly 7-minute-long remarks.

VP Vance expressed gratitude from President Trump for the troops stationed there before closing his remarks, after which he shook hands and took photos with service members, many of whom lined up to do so after the speech.

Vance later departed for Scotland for the next leg of his UK trip.