Donald Trump has taken another swipe at Sir Keir Starmer as he told reporters at the White House, ‘we don’t want another Neville Chamberlain’.
Asked by a reporter whether he had spoken to Sir Keir and if the UK could ‘resurrect like Jesus this Easter weekend’, Trump replied, ‘Well, that’s what they need.
‘They have a long way to go, the UK has a long way to go,’ before then adding, ‘we don’t want another Neville Chamberlain, do we agree?’
Chamberlain, who was the UK Prime Minister at the start of the Second World War, is remembered for the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany before the conflict, before he was replaced by Winston Churchill.
It comes after Starmer was warned that his relationship with the US President may be irrevocably damaged following a series of scathing remarks by Trump.
In an earlier speech at the White House, Trump mocked Starmer for his response to the Middle East conflict.
He mimicked the UK Prime Minister, saying he had to ask his team about sending ‘two broken-down aircraft carriers’ to the Middle East.
Speaking at the lunch last Wednesday, Trump 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 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”?’
While doing an impression of Starmer, Trump added: ‘Oh 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.’
The US President has been angry with Sir Keir for weeks for refusing to let US airplanes use British bases for sorties over Iran.
Sir Keir has since changed his mind but has refused to send British troops and ships to the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20 percent of the world’s oil.
Its closure is causing petrol prices to spike amid warnings from analysts it could cause an oil shock worse than the 1970s.
Speaking on Wednesday, Sir Keir once again refused Mr Trump’s requests and said that ‘this is not our war’, adding: ‘We will not be drawn into the conflict.’
Mr Trump’s frustration boiled over hours later at a White House lunch that was filmed and uploaded by the White House, according to journalist Bryan Metzger of Business Insider, who posted the whole thing on X, formerly Twitter.
The President drew a comparison between the Prime Minister and King Charles, who is due to make a state visit to Washington later this month.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
