1) ‘Very disappointed’
The U.S. president gave off the demeanor of a frustrated parent when he told the Telegraph he was “very disappointed” Britain hadn’t let the U.S. use the joint Diego Garcia airbase to strike Iran.
Though Britain later allowed its use for limited purposes, Trump said Starmer took “took far too long” and “that’s probably never happened between our countries before.” Scholars of the Vietnam war may beg to differ.
2) ‘Not like it used to be’
Spoken like a former flame, Trump despaired that the alliance between the two countries was “not like it used to be,” telling the Sun the breakdown has been “very sad.”
In possibly the most cutting of his swipes, Trump remarked “this was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe.” Ouch.
3) ‘Not Winston Churchill’
Speaking in the Oval Office, where a bust of the wartime leader is on display, the U.S. president declared of Starmer “this is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with” and said the present times were “not the age of Churchill.”
It’s a line he’s repeated several times since.