“It’s a different world, actually. It’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before,” he added in an interview with the Sun newspaper, conducted late Monday night and published Tuesday.
Trump earlier told the Telegraph he was “very disappointed” by Starmer hindering the use of the joint Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands — prompting the British PM to hit back that it is his duty to “judge what is in Britain’s national interest.”
In a further break with Trump, Starmer told MPs on Monday he does not believe in “regime change from the skies,” though he has given limited permission for U.K. bases to be used to destroy Iranian missile launchers.
Trump was warmer in his assessment of U.S. relations with France and Germany.
“This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,” he added.
Directly asked by The Sun newspaper if the British PM’s hesitancy to engage in strikes on Iran is because Starmer is pandering to Muslim voters, Trump said: “It could be.”