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Trump Says No

Is the United States shutting down a Naval base in Alexandroupoli, Greece, as reported in February 2025? No, that's not true: A defense official told Lead Stories there is no "US base in Alexandroupolis." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denied the claim on February 24, 2025, saying at the White House, "It's a no," according to the White House press pool report and video published on C-SPAN. President Donald Trump said "it's not a correct story" when asked by a journalist about a report the U.S. was shutting down the base at the request of Russia and Turkey.

The claim appeared in a post and article (archived here) where it was published on X on February 24, 2025. It opened:

Trump just caved to Putin and Erdogan, shutting down a crucial NATO base in Alexandroupoli, Greece--right where they wanted it gone.

The man who cries "America First" is handing strategic victories to dictators, selling out allies faster than his steaks went out of business.

This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:

(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Feb 24 19:17:12 2025 UTC)

The post links to a post on the "Defence Blog" website (archived here) titled, "Trump shuts down US base in Greece," and cites Greek newspaper Dimokratia as the source:

U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the shutdown of the U.S. military base in Alexandroupoli, Greece, according to Greek newspaper Dimokratia website (archived here).

The post explained what the Greek newspaper reported:

According to Greek media, Trump's decision to dismantle the military presence in Alexandroupoli came after a joint request from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As noted by the Greek newspaper, if confirmed, the move represents a diplomatic concession that could alter the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean.

A White House press pool report obtained by Lead Stories from the appearance of French President Emmanuel Macron and Trump in the Oval Office on February 24, 2028, noted Secretary Hegseth said, "It's a no," and Trump said, "It's not a correct story," when a reporter asked if the U.S. was shutting down the base in Alexandroupoli, Greece.

A video published on C-SPAN (archived here) of the February 24, 2025, meeting shows the question being asked of the president beginning at 4:55:

A reporter says, "Mr. President, we are hearing from Greek media reporting that the US has agreed to shut down a military base in Greece that has been a logistical hub for NATO," and Trump asks, "That who shut down?" The reporter clarifies, saying, " That the U.S. has agreed to shut it down at the request of Turkey and Russia, is that at all true?" and Trump says, to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "Marco, do you have anything to say about that?"

A person identified by the White House press pool report as Hegseth responds, "Sir, that's a no sir," and then again says, "It's a no, sir." Trump then says, "It's not a correct story."

A defense official told Lead Stories via email on February 24, 2025, that the United States does not have a base in Greece:

There is no US base in Alexandroupolis - it is a Greek facility that the US has access to as under the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement. It simply serves as a surface transportation hub when US equipment flows into and out of Europe. US transport personnel can surge to the location to manage episodic arrivals and departures of equipment, but this is not a US 'base' for the US to close.

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Other Lead Stories fact checks about Donald Trump can be found here.