In a withering assessment of the embattled Prime Minister, who has finally announced the UK will deploy military assets to the Middle East, Mr Trump said, "This is not Winston Churchill we're dealing with". Blasting Sir Keir as being unlike the beloved wartime leader has been viewed as a savage put-down of the Prime Minister, with the President having long shown his respect for Churchill.
When he became President, he put a bust of the wartime hero in the Oval Office. Speaking today, the President referred to the UK Chagos Island deal, saying: "That island that you read about, the lease, for whatever reason, he made a lease of the island, somebody came and took it away from him."
Mr Trump even said he was "very surprised" by the British government's inaction. He added: "And it's taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land, it would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours."
The President added that he "loved the UK" but said that what the country was doing with "energy and immigration" was "horrible". Mr Trump's parents were both born in the United Kingdom, he said, in a long answer where he even called for the UK to "solve" the problem of illegal immigration. His staggering comments come just hours after the Prime minister confirmed that the HMS Dragon, a Navy frigate, was being deployed to the region.
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It is expected to arrive next week. RAF bases located on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus have been struck by Iranian Shahed drones, but the Prime Minister has so far only committed to defence action to protect British interests in the region.
The shocking attack by the President comes as the war engulfed the region after the US attacked Iran on Saturday and killed the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking today, the President branded the Iranian leadership "mentally ill, angry and sick people". Attacks have continued over recent days, with Tehran retaliating with attacks across the Gulf states and beyond.
The President has been critical of British responses to the war, and has previously said the Prime Minister was "unhelpful" when the UK chose not to be involved in the initial attack." Speaking to the Sun over the weekend, he said: "[Sir Keir] has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK. It’s a different world, actually. It’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before"
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