Donald Trump Says Keir Starmer's Decision To Give Up Chagos Islands Was 'An Act Of Great Stupidity'
Donald Trump has accused Keir Starmer of “an act of great stupidity” over the decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
In an extraordinary attack, the US president said: “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
His comments, in a late-night post on Truth Social, come after Starmer criticised Trump’s “completely wrong” decision to threaten the UK and seven other European nations with tariffs for opposing his plan to take over Greenland.
The government announced last year that it was going ahead with the Chagos deal, which will see the UK pay Mauritius £9 billion over the next 99 years so the UK-US military base at Diego Garcia will continue to operate as it does at the moment.
Trump gave the deal his blessing at the time, but has now performed a stunning about-turn.
He said: “Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.”
A government spokesman said: “The UK will never compromise on our national security. We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it operating as intended in future.
“This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.
“It has been publicly welcomed by the US, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners including India, Japan and South Korea.”
Trump’s attack is a damaging blow to the so-called “special relationship” between the US and UK, which Starmer has tried hard to maintain since becoming PM.
Unlike the European Union, Starmer has ruled out imposing retaliatory tariffs on America, even if Trump goes ahead with his threat to slap 10% import charges on British goods from February 1.
Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street on Monday, Starmer said: “Britain is a pragmatic country: we look for agreement, we believe in partnership.
“We prefer solutions to slogans, and we will not indulge in commentary and gesture politics that harm the British people.”