Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives said his “mission” in the UK is to ‘calm the waters’ in the dispute over Trump’s threat to annex Greenland – even though the trip was planned months ago
Donald Trump’s House Speaker says he’s in the UK to ‘calm the waters’ in the dispute over the US President’s threat to annex Greenland. But during a speech in Parliament, Republican Mike Johnson warned: “A strong America is good for the entire world.”
The top Republican, in a speech to MPs and peers in Westminster this morning, said he agreed with Sir Keir Starmer’s approach of finding a resolution through dialogue.
“When I met with Prime Minister Starmer at Downing Street yesterday, I told him that I thought his national address a few hours earlier was well done,” Mr Johnson, an ally of the US president, said.
“We’ve always been able to work through our differences calmly as friends. We will continue to do that. I want to assure you this morning that that is still the case.
“I spoke to President Trump at length yesterday, and I told him that I really felt that my mission here – that even though we planned this back in the fall – we didn’t know how the events would develop over the last few days.
“But I told the president that I felt that my mission here today was to encourage our friends and help calm the waters.”
This morning, Trump ramped up tensions by lashing out at the UK’s deal to give up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, branding it a “great act of stupidity”.
The US president said handing the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius was a sign of “total weakness” by the UK. The UK Government has agreed to hand over the islands but will pay billions of pounds to lease back the strategically important Diego Garcia base. Ministers have claimed the deal is necessary because international court rulings in favour of Mauritian claims to sovereignty had threatened the future of the base.
In an extraordinary attack on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER. There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
Ahead of his speech, Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle gave an introduction which included remarks that could be seen as a veiled swipe at Trump’s ambition to own Greenland – and the situation in Diego Garcia.
Speaking about the earliest foundations of the United States, Speaker Hoyle said: “The US fought for freedom and for the right to make its own constitutional arrangements, and to make its own decisions about how those arrangements might change.”
On paper, Speaker Johnson’s visit is to mark 250 years of American independence. He told MPs and peers: “President Trump is taking seriously the modern and dynamic threats that China and Russia pose for our global security…
“We ignore these threats at our peril. And I want to haste to express our gratitude for you today and to all of you for joining us in some of our most recent actions to deter these hostile regimes, including the recent seizure of a black market vessel seeking to circumvent world sanctions. That was a big help to us.
“That kind of open dialogue and partnership is a great example of how we work together to ensure our collective defence around the world.”
But he added: “It is an objective and obvious truth that a strong America is good for the entire world, and a strong UK is as well.
“At the same time, it’s also obvious that we have to take care of our own houses, so to speak, before we take care of the neighbourhood.”