Danish veterans march in Copenhagen to protest President Trump’s remarks

On Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, Danish military veterans and their families marched through Copenhagen in protest of recent comments by President Trump that they said belittled the support NATO allies gave the United States in recent wars. At the front of the march was Lance Cpl. Soren Teigen, a Danish soldier who fought alongside U.S.

troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, who said he did not blame American soldiers and that “we’ve fought side by side,” but that the president’s remarks “of course… hurt.” Veterans were bused in from around Denmark to join the demonstration. The protest was driven in part by outrage over Mr.

Trump’s claim that NATO troops who fought alongside the United States in Afghanistan “stayed a little back, little off the front lines.” Denmark lost more soldiers per capita in the conflict than any other nation and suffered 43 deaths in Helmand Province, veterans and attendees noted.

Retired warrant officer René Wendt said, “I think the man is seriously out of his mind.” The march began at a centuries-old military citadel and ended at the U.S. Embassy, where veterans laid a wreath bearing the ribbon wording “In eternal respect for those who fought when the United States activated Article 5.” Participants recited the names of Danish soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq, replaced miniature Danish flags that had been removed from embassy flower beds, and were cheered by onlookers.

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