U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is condemning President Trump’s claim that some NATO troops stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.
Mr. Starmer, speaking to Sky News on Friday, called the comments “insulting and frankly appalling”.
The prime minister has tried to maintain warm relations with Mr. Trump. His government was the first country to strike a major trade deal as Mr. Trump wielded tariff threats last year.
Yet British politicians were outraged over Mr. Trump’s recent comments during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Speaking to Fox Business, Mr. Trump questioned whether NATO forces would support the U.S. if the Americans called on them.
“We’ve never needed them,” Mr. Trump said. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this and that, and they did — they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
Mr. Starmer pointed to the 457 British soldiers who died in Afghanistan while serving alongside U.S. troops.
The Defense Department reported 1,926 hostile deaths of U.S. troops during the Afghanistan war.
“I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice that they made for their country,” Mr. Starmer said.
He said many others suffered “life-changing injuries.”
“So I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling,” Mr. Starmer said. “And I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured and, in fact, across the country.”
Asked if Mr. Trump should apologize, Mr. Starmer said that he, personally, would apologize if he’d said something similar.
The Washington Times reached out to the White House for comment on Mr. Starmer’s criticism.
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the U.K. Conservative Party, also criticized the U.S. president.
“British, Canadian, and NATO troops fought and died alongside the U.S. for 20 years,” she wrote on X. “This is a fact, not opinion. Their sacrifice deserves respect not denigration.”
