Donald Trump: ‘He’s hurt himself very, very badly’: Trump’s blunt response to Keir Starmer resigning as UK PM
President of the United States Donald Trump Aimed at extroversion british prime minister Keir Starmer said on Monday the Labor leader’s policies on energy, immigration and relations with Washington had led to his downfall.Speaking to reporters at an Oval Office event, Trump struck a friendly tone before launching into sharp criticism of Starmer’s record.“I think he’s a lovely guy,” Trump said, before accusing British leaders of squandering Britain’s energy potential by failing to fully develop North Sea oil reserves and allowing “windmills everywhere”.“The United Kingdom buys a lot of energy. You know where? Norway. You know where they get their oil? The North Sea,” Trump said. “The UK owns a better part of the North Sea – they don’t want to do it for environmental purposes.”Trump had earlier predicted Starmer’s departure in an article for The Truth Society, saying the Labor leader was “sort of a friend of mine” but suggesting he had not done enough to support the United States on key geopolitical issues, including NATO and the conflict involving Iran.Trump revealed that one of the bone of contention was Britain’s initial reluctance to approve the use of Britain’s Royal Air Force Base Akrotiri in Cyprus to attack Iranian targets. The two leaders reportedly clashed over the issue, with Trump expressing frustration at the delay.“He said we couldn’t use the island for landing. It was a first,” the MAGA top leader said, adding that Starmer eventually relented but it was “a bad move” that “hurt him badly”.As Starmer prepares to resign as Labor leader, Trump said the British prime minister’s “biggest political weakness is obvious”.“I wish him the best,” Trump said. “But he has two issues: energy and immigration — and crime. But energy and immigration. He hurt himself really, really badly. “Starmer announced on Monday that he would step down as Labor leader while remaining prime minister during a managed transition, following months of mounting pressure within the party and a series of disappointing election results that undermined his authority.Attention now turns to veteran Labor figure and former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who is widely seen as the frontrunner to replace Starmer. If elected, Burnham would become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade.
