But last week, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he was reconsidering Washington’s support for Britain’s sovereignty over the islands. “I always review every position — that’s just one of many,” he told reporters.
Days later, on Friday, right-wing Argentinian President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, escalated the rhetoric over his country’s enduring claim to the islands, pledging to levy sanctions against companies drilling for oil nearby without approval from Buenos Aires.
Britain’s center-left Labour government immediately rejected Milei’s threat. A Downing Street spokesperson said the islanders have a right to self-determination and that the U.K. supports their right “to develop their natural resources for their own economic benefit.”
Jenrick told journalists at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham: “If Nigel Farage was our prime minister, Milei would not be doing what he’s doing. This is happening because Milei is weak, and he senses that we have a weak government too.”
He added: “If Nigel Farage was our prime minister, we would use every lever of the British state — our armed forces, our economic sanctions, everything — to defend the Falklands, and we would crush Argentina.”
Reform UK’s decision to turn on Milei over the issue contrasts with Farage’s previous praise for the Argentinian leader for his right-wing, small state ideology. In 2024, Farage described Milei’s agenda as “amazing,” “incredible” and “like Thatcherism on steroids,” adding: “I’m beginning to think about buying Argentinian bonds.”