UK-US ties may be beyond repair, PM Starmer told as Trump mocks him over lack of support in Iran War

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been warned about his relationship with US President Donald Trump after the latter mocked him for consulting his team about military decisions. The UK-US ties took a hit after Trump appeared to imitate Starmer in a weak voice during an Easter lunch speech at the White House.

While slamming the British government, the American president insisted that the UK “was not our best” ally. Trump slammed Starmer and “old” British aircraft after the premier declined to let the US use British military bases for its initial strikes on Iran.

Following Trump’s remarks, diplomatic and political figures said that the British prime minister was right to brush off the criticism, but added that the relationship had been severely damaged. The experts argued that Starmer would now need to redouble efforts to build international relations elsewhere, The Guardian reported.

More from World

‘Go, get your own oil’: Trump targets UK over Iran stand, says ‘won’t be there to help you anymore’ 'Don't care about that': Trump reverses decade-long nuclear red line on Iran, its uranium stockpile

Trump feels betrayed

At the White House address, Trump argued that the UK “should be our best” ally but had not been during the Iran war, accusing Starmer of prevaricating over sending aircraft carriers. During his address, the president said, “I asked the UK, who should be our best. In fact, the king is coming over here in two weeks; he’s a nice guy, King Charles."

“But it should be our best, but they weren’t our best. I said, ‘You have two old, broken-down aircraft carriers, do you think you could send them over?’ “‘Ohhh, I’ll have to ask my team.’ “I said: ‘You’re the prime minister, you don’t have to.’ “‘No, no, no, I have to ask my team. My team has to meet, we’re meeting next week.’ “But the war already started. Next week the war’s going to be over … in three days," Trump said, attempting to imitate Starmer.

However, Downing Street sources maintained that Trump had never requested the vessels from the UK and Britain had not offered them. Trump’s criticism of Starmer came two weeks ago, when he stated that the British Prime Minister had requested to consult his team about deploying minesweepers, not aircraft carriers.

Quick Reads

View All

Le Pen, AfD, Nigel Farage…: Europe's far right breaks with Trump over Iran war and energy pain

Myanmar’s parliament elects junta chief Min Aung Hlaing who ousted Suu Kyi govt as president

One senior diplomat maintained that Starmer was right to “essentially ignore” Trump and must now attempt to build ties with Canada, Australia and mainland Europe instead, as it was hard to see how the relationship could recover, The Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, another former diplomat noted that the king’s visit and potentially Prince William and Kate’s forthcoming US tour may offer a way to improve UK relations with Trump, but that Starmer was taking the right approach in not bowing to the president’s demands.