Entertainment
Trump praises UK troops as brave warriors after widespread condemnation
campaign rally at the Forum River Centre in Rome, Georgia, US. — Reuters/File
- King Charles’ concern over Trump’s initial remarks.
- Trump says soldiers of UK will always be with US.
- Soldiers’ sacrifice must not be forgotten: British PM.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised “brave” British soldiers, calling them warriors, a day after remarks he made about Nato troops in Afghanistan were described as “insulting and appalling” by Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Trump provoked widespread anger in Britain and across Europe after he said European troops had stayed off the front lines in Afghanistan.
Britain lost 457 service personnel killed in Afghanistan, its deadliest overseas war since the 1950s. For several of the war’s most intense years it led the allied campaign in Helmand, Afghanistan’s biggest and most violent province, while also fighting as the main US battlefield ally in Iraq.
“The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.”
The Sun on Sunday newspaper reported that King Charles’ concern over Trump’s initial remarks had been relayed to the president, who last year expressed his admiration for the monarch during a state visit to Britain. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the report.
Trump had also provoked an unusually strong reaction from Starmer, who has tended to avoid direct criticism of the president in public.
The British leader’s office issued a statement to say the prime minister had spoken to the president on Saturday about the issue.
“The prime minister raised the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home,” the statement said. “We must never forget their sacrifice,” he said.
Veterans in Britain and elsewhere have been lining up to condemn the US president’s comments to Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” on Thursday, in which he said that the United States had “never needed” the transatlantic alliance and accused allies of staying “a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan.
Among them was King Charles’ younger son Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan.
“Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect,” he said in a statement.
The Duke of Edinburgh touched down in the United Arab Emirates on 31st January, for a whistle-stop mission that’s equal parts youth inspiration and environmental eye opener.
On the first day of his visit, Prince Edward well known as the global champion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award met with ambitious young participants from The British School Al Khubairat and Gordonstoun School at Jubail Mangrove Park in Abu Dhabi.
The mangrove reserve, part of a wider UAE push to protect coastal ecosystems and biodiversity, is also a new kind of classroom for youth learning and stewardship.
As Chairman of the Award Foundation, he used the occasion to celebrate how programmes like the DofE empower young people with confidence.
Meanwhile, Gordonstoun’s involvement carries special weight, the Scottish school is where the Duke’s father, Prince Philip, helped shape the Award’s ethos and where the programme was born.
After engaging with students and mentors among the mangroves, he went on to visit the Zayed National Museum to celebrate UAE’s history before joining a dinner hosted by Britain’s Ambassador to the UAE, His Excellency Edward Hobart, in Dubai.
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