Rod Stewart activates outdated good friend Donald Trump demanding he apologise for saying British troopers stayed again from the Afghan entrance line
Legendary rockstar Rod Stewart has launched an attack on his old friend Donald Trump, demanding he apologises for his jibe at Britain’s war dead.
In a video on Instagram, the singer, 81, branded the US president a ‘draft dodger’ and described his comments on UK servicemen in Afghanistan as ‘unbearable’.
Trump has sparked fury around the world this week after he said in an interview with US media that NATO troops stayed ‘a little off the frontlines’ during the conflict.
He added that ‘we’ve never needed them’ and ‘we have never really asked anything of them’.
Many critics, however, have pointed out that Mr Trump himself had repeatedly swerved military service in Vietnam.
Joining the chorus of condemnation, Mr Stewart said: ‘I was born just after the war and I have great respect for our armed forces that fought and gave us our freedom.
‘So it hurts be badly, deeply when I read that the draft dodger Trump has criticised our troops in Afghanistan for not being on the frontline.
‘We lost over 400 of our guys. Think about their parents, think about it and Trump calls them almost like cowards. It’s unbearable.’
Legendary rockstar Rod Stewart has launched an attack on his old friend Donald Trump, demanding he apologises for his jibe at Britain’s war dead
Rod Stewart is pictured with Donald Trump – they have been described as old friends
The coffin containing the body of British Army soldier L/cpl Paul ‘Sandy’ Sandford from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment is carried by his fellow soldiers
He called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to force Mr Trump to apologise.
The US president has so far stayed silent on the furore and has instead posted on social media about his wife Melania’s upcoming Amazon documentary.
Mr Stewart’s comments come despite him being an old friend of Mr Trump’s, who has known the US president for a ‘long time’.
But last year he declared that he no longer attends Mr Trump’s lavish parties at Mar-a-Lago, citing a firm stance taken by his wife, Penny Lancaster.
The model reportedly put a stop to her husband’s friendship with the president, claiming he ‘doesn’t treat women very well’, according to her rocker husband.
‘I used to go to his Christmas party and the balls he held, but my wife said no,’ Stewart, 81, said.
‘There was stuff he was coming out with, what he was saying about women he had known in the past, and Penny said, “You’re not going. He’s a disgrace.”‘
While Stewart and Trump, 79, were once friendly, the singer even performing at Trump’s casinos, his view of the former president has changed significantly.
In a 2018 interview, Stewart addressed his personal history with Trump, admitting to knowing the billionaire president ‘for a long time.’
‘Let me just clear up the situation. I’ve known Trump for a long time. I’ve done concerts for him in his casinos.’
‘I live probably three-quarters of a mile down the road from him on the beach in Florida,’ the Maggie May singer said.
‘He’s always been extremely nice to me. He’s let my friends use his golf course for nothing, and I’ve had no problems with him at all.
‘Is he a great president? Nah. I think his moral compass is way off. But on the other hand, the country’s doing extremely well – although I believe part of that was down to President Obama. The country was starting to do great anyway; he’s just carrying it on.
‘But we’ll see with the mid-term elections. It does seem like the walls are closing in on my dear friend,’ he added.
Stewart also said in an interview with Radio Times magazine that his former friend has changed since being elected into office.’
