Washington DC, London
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US President Donald Trump praised British troops on Saturday, following continued outrage over comments he made this week that downplayed the sacrifices of NATO troops in Afghanistan.
“Our great and brave British soldiers will always be with the United States of America!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“457 people died in Afghanistan, many seriously wounded, but they were some of the greatest warriors of all,” he continued. “It is a bond too strong to ever be broken. With an extraordinary heart and soul, the British Army is second to none (except the US!). We love you all and always will!”
The message came in the wake of a furious reaction to the president’s comments minimizing the role played by NATO forces in Afghanistan. The president’s comments came at the end of a week in which he threatened to seize control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of fellow NATO member Denmark, causing serious tension in the alliance and irritating U.S. allies in NATO.
Prince Harry, who joined British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the dispute, also criticized the comments, with Starmer calling them “insulting and frankly appalling”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer then raised the issue in a phone call with Trump on Saturday, during which they discussed the “brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought together in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home.”
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States became the first, and so far only, member of NATO to invoke Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all members. For two decades, NATO allies and other partner nations fought alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
“We’ve never needed it,” President Trump said of NATO in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday. “We never really asked them anything. You know, they’d say they sent troops to Afghanistan and all that. And they did. They were a little bit to the rear, a little bit away from the front lines.”
Mr Starmer said on Friday: “If I had made that mistake or said those words, I would certainly have apologized.”
The White House initially ignored Starmer’s criticism, insisting that Trump’s sentiments were valid.
Asked to respond to Starmer’s comments, White House press secretary Taylor Rogers said: “President Trump is absolutely right. The United States has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance combined.”
Downing Street said the two sides “discussed the need to strengthen Arctic security” in a phone call on Saturday, following tense diplomacy over Greenland and President Trump’s announcement of a “framework agreement” for the autonomous territory.
“The leaders discussed the importance of the UK-US relationship, which continues to stand the test of time,” the Downing Street reading concluded. “They agreed to talk right away.”
President Trump’s social media posts on Saturday came amid intense backlash over his NATO comments.
Prince Harry, a military veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan, said through a spokesperson that the sacrifices of NATO troops “must be talked about honestly and with respect.”
Even Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a staunch Trump ally, rejected his remarks.
Meloni wrote in a post on X on Saturday that the Italian government was surprised by Trump’s comments.
“Any statement that belittles the contribution of NATO countries in Afghanistan is unacceptable, especially when it comes from an ally,” she said.
Meloni said Italy and the United States remain “bound by a strong friendship.”
“But friendship requires respect, a fundamental condition for continuing to ensure the unity that is at the heart of the Atlantic Alliance,” she continued.
Danish troops who fought alongside U.S. forces have expressed feelings of betrayal over President Trump’s comments about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), exacerbated by the president’s repeated threats to “acquire” Greenland before handing it back this week.
President Trump praised the British military in his message on Saturday, but made no mention of other NATO countries that have lost troops in the 20-year conflict.
