US Politics
Trump says King Charles would have taken ‘different stand’ on Iran war in fresh dig at Starmer
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US president Donald Trump has had a fresh dig at Sir Keir Starmer by suggesting the King would have backed him over the war in Iran when the prime minister did not.
Mr Trump claimed the monarch would have taken a “very different stand” from Sir Keir – the latest in a long string of broadsides at the Labour leader.
He has several times slated Sir Keir for at first not allowing the US to use British bases to attack Iran and for not joining efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, at least twice pointing out that the prime minister is not wartime leader Winston Churchill.
Mr Trump, who also claimed the UK does not have a navy. He has also previously said he liked Sir Keir, but last week he shared a television skit mocking the PM, and then claimed Britain had “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran” and needed to “start learning how to fight” for itself.
Since coming to office, the US president has repeatedly attacked Sir Keir’s clean energy plan, urging him to open up the North Sea and “get rid of windmills”. The relationship between the pair has deteriorated since then.
The president drew a contrast between the King and Sir Keir a day after Buckingham Palace confirmed Charles and Camilla would next month carry out a state visit to the US – despite calls for it to be postponed or cancelled because of the Middle East war.
Asked by The Telegraph about the King, Mr Trump said: “I like him. I always liked him as a prince. He’s a good man, a great representative for your country.”
He added: “I think he would have taken a very different stand [on the war in Iran] but he doesn’t do that. I mean, he’s a great gentleman.”
The president told the newspaper the King had “nothing to do with this”, referring to the breakdown in US-UK relations over the Iran war.
Sir Keir said he would act in the British national interest “whatever the noise” after Mr Trump said he was considering pulling out of Nato. He said he would not give in to pressure to join the war.
Mr Trump declared Charles’s trip would be a “momentous occasion” in a post on his Truth Social site earlier this week, adding that there would be “a beautiful Banquet Dinner” at the White House on the evening of 28 April. Buckingham Palace did not give specific dates in its announcement.
“I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!”, Mr Trump added.
State visits are rarely postponed, except for security reasons and illness, and the royal family’s soft power diplomacy is viewed as an important and unique way of engaging with the billionaire-turned-politician Mr Trump, who is well known for his love of the monarchy.
Earlier, Mr Trump claimed he rejected a new ceasefire request from Iran’s leader.
He simultaneously threatened to bomb the country “back to the Stone Ages” if Tehran failed to ensure free passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Truth Social, he said “Iran’s New Regime President” — whom he described as “much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors” — had asked for a ceasefire from the US.
“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages,” he added.
