‘Great stupidity’: Trump reverses stance on UK-Mauritius Chagos Islands deal to justify Greenland’s control

In a sharp reversal, US President Donald Trump has slammed the agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius for the handover of the Chagos Islands as “great stupidity” and cited it as a reason to occupy Denmark’s Greenland island.

Last year, Trump had endorsed the UK-Mauritius deal for Chagos Islands. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called it commendable.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump on Tuesday falsely claimed that the UK was giving away the Diego Garcia island to Mauritius where the UK and the United States jointly operate a military base.

Under the deal with Mauritius, the UK will hold the Diego Garcia island on an extendable lease for 99 years, allowing military operations to run seamlessly.

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Last year, Trump had not just endorsed the US-Mauritius deal but had praised it. Rubio had “welcomed the historic agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius”.

“We commend both the United Kingdom and Mauritius for their leadership, vision, and commitment to ensure that Diego Garcia remains fully operational for the duration of this agreement,” Rubio had said.

Rubio had said that the Trump administration had determined that the US-UK agreement secured long-term operational capabilities.

“Following a comprehensive interagency review, the Trump Administration determined that this agreement secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-UK military facility at Diego Garcia. This is a critical asset for regional and global security. President Trump expressed his support for this monumental achievement during his meeting with Prime Minister Starmer at the White House,” Rubio had said.

Irrespective of facts or his own administration’s past assessment, Trump said on Truth Social: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ Nato Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US military base, to Mauritius and to do so for no reason whatsoever.”

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Trump further went on to say that the “UK giving away extremely important land is an act of great stupidity and is another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired”.

This is the latest justification that Trump has conjured for his desire to occupy Greenland. Previously, he had said that the denial of Nobel Peace Prize meant he did not have any obligation to pursue peace and that was why he would occupy Greenland.

While Trump has maintained he would occupy Greenland since winning the 2024 election, he and his allies have ramped up the rhetoric and aggressive posturing in recent weeks. The White House has formally said that the administration was open to invading Greenland to occupy it.

As part of a coercive campaign, he slapped a 10 per cent tariff on Denmark and seven other European nations that are opposed to the American occupation of Greenland. He said he would raise the tariff to 25 per cent if Greenland would not be handed over to the United States by June.