Trump says Europeans “freeloading,” echoing leaked chat

US President Donald Trump accused European nations of "freeloading" Tuesday, agreeing with reported comments by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a leaked chat on Yemen air strikes.

Read more: Journalist accidentally texted classified war plan, says White House

"Yeah I think they've been freeloading," Trump told reporters when asked if he agreed with what The Atlantic magazine quoted Hegseth as saying in a conversation on the Signal app, to which a journalist was accidentally added.

In the chat, a user identified as Vice President JD Vance opposed the strikes saying that "I just hate bailing Europe out again" and a user identified as Hegseth replies: "I fully share your loathing of European freeloading. It's PATHETIC."