Donald Trump breaks silence on Keir Starmer resignation with brutal remark
Donald Trump has been scathing in his criticism of outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, saying the British public “did not like” his refusal to be drawn into the war against Iran
Donald Trump has declared that the British public “did not like” Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to be drawn into the war against Iran
Donald Trump has declared that the British public “did not like” Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to be drawn into the war against Iran, once again dismissing the outgoing Prime Minister as “not Winston Churchill”.
The president also reiterated his claim that Sir Keir had “hurt himself very, very badly” over his position on immigration and energy, while describing him as “a very nice man” and “sort of a friend of mine”.
Mr Trump made his remarks at the White House following Sir Keir’s resignation as Labour leader, after the former premier conceded he had lost the backing of his MPs, with ex-Greater Manchester mayor and newly elected MP Andy Burnham poised to step into the spotlight.
The president has been openly scathing of the Prime Minister ever since he refused to grant the US access to British military bases for its bombing campaign against Iran, though limited authorisation was later given for defensive strikes.
Tensions were further inflamed by the subsequent standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington lambasting the response of the UK and its allies to the Gulf crisis, insisting that other nations depended on the vital waterway far more than America did. The White House has shown little enthusiasm for UK and France-led proposals for a defensive mission to guarantee safe passage for vessels through the channel once the fighting ceased.
The conflict has only deepened existing friction over Nato, with Mr Trump insisting that America has been bearing the burden of defending other nations. Just last week, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of American military forces in Europe at a meeting of the alliance, hitting out at members who “have yet to show a credible path” towards fulfilling their spending commitments.
He told his counterparts that “some of Nato’s largest economies” still appear “to think the era of free-riding is here”.
A row over UK military spending prompted John Healey to recently resign as defence secretary, heaping further pressure on the already beleaguered Prime Minister.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr Trump, who is due to meet Nato chief Mark Rutte this week, said: “So we have been a great member of Nato. In many ways certainly the predominant member. We paid trillions of dollars over the years, not billions, trillions over the years to protect Europe.”
Turning to the Iran conflict, the president added: “We didn’t need any help at all. I was more curious than anything else, so I said to Pete (Hegseth) ‘Let’s see if they’d actually come’. So we asked him to come, and they weren’t there for us.
“By the way Starmer wasn’t there, and you know what, the people of the UK did not like it that he wasn’t there. Starmer said no. Starmer said worse than no. He said ‘We’ll be there as soon as you win’. I said ‘We don’t need you as soon as we win’.”
Mr Trump continued: “This was not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with. As soon as we win, they’re going to come and help us.” He also branded Germany and Italy as “very bad” over the Iran war, and has clashed publicly with the leaders of both nations. Mr Trump said: “The numbers that we spend are so crazy for Nato and they weren’t there for us.”
Suggesting the US was spending “hundreds of millions of dollars to protect them (members) from Russia mostly”, he dropped a hint that America might not come to the aid of its allies in the future.
The president said: “We spend all of this money, and then when we want to maybe have help on small stuff – this is small time, this is not the big one, this is small potatoes – they say ‘No, we’d rather not help’. Stupid thing to say, because we can say that to them if we want, and we might.”
Mr Trump also took another dig at Sir Keir over his immigration and energy policies. He has repeatedly pushed for the UK to exploit the North Sea for oil rather than depending on “windmills”.
While acknowledging his criticism of Mr Starmer, Mr Trump said: “I think he’s a lovely man, but I said ‘You’re really messing up energy. You have windmills all over the place’. In the meantime, you have the North Sea oil, and they won’t let anybody drill.
“It’s one of the great fields in the world. You know that the UK buys much of its energy, you know where? Norway. You know where they get their oil? The North Sea. The UK has a much better portion of the North Sea, they don’t want to do it for environmental purposes.”
The president continued: “He’s a very nice man, I mean, sort of a friend of mine, I mean he was not good to us with Nato, Pete (Hegseth), right?”.
Turning to Sir Keir’s initial reluctance to allow the US access to British military bases, Mr Trump remarked: “That was a bad move that hurt him badly. I wish him well, but he’s got two problems – energy and immigration – and crime. But energy and immigration. He’s really hurt himself very, very badly.”
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