Trump laments collapse of special relationship amid brawl with Starmer
President Trump has described the breakdown of the special relationship as “very sad” amid a spat with Sir Keir Starmer on the UK’s refusal to allow military bases to be used for attacks on the Iranian regime.
Trump has hit out at Starmer for the second consecutive day, claiming the Prime Minister had not been “helpful”.
“This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,” he told The Sun.
“I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK.
“We love the UK.”
He also said the special relationship was “not like it used to be”, adding: “It’s a different world, actually. It’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before.”
“It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was.”
The new comments published on Tuesday morning came as Israel and the US’s conflict with Iran and its proxies continued to escalate, with Israeli troops entering Lebanon to attack the proscribed militant group Hezbollah.
Trump’s plans rebuked by Starmer
Trump’s grievance with Starmer sources from a decision the UK took to prevent US forces from using military bases in the UK and the Chagos Islands for attacks on Iran on Saturday morning.
The US president told The Telegraph on Monday he was “very disappointed” in the Prime Minister, the first clear indication of his anger at Starmer.
Later in the day, Starmer appeared to rebuke Trump’s justification for the conflict in a statement to the House of Commons.
He said the government “does not believe in regime change from the skies”, which was interpreted as a swipe at Trump’s military planning.
“President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest,” Starmer told MPs.
Starmer also said the UK had learned from the “mistakes of Iraq” and the need to establish a “lawful basis” for engaging in attacks.
“President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest.”
Both the Conservatives’ Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage have blasted the Prime Minister for his reliance on international law as each leader said Starner had taken the wrong decision in failing to back the US from the outset.
The UK has since allowed the US to use military bases for “specific and limited defensive purposes”, which includes striking military assets belonging to Iran within the country’s borders.