Donald Trump has suggested the United States might not defend Britain if Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands again.
The US president, 79, made the remarks during a GB News interview when asked about renewed tensions over the disputed South Atlantic territory. He tied his stance directly to the UK’s refusal to fully back his military campaign against Iran, telling the British audience: “Your country was not there to help me.”
Trump pressed the point about British military capacity, questioning whether the UK could replicate its 1982 victory. “But the Falklands is very interesting because your country is not the same country it was 20 years ago, 25 years ago. It was a long time ago,” he said. “And you went there and you just took it back very quickly and there was no games. So I don’t know if you’re prepared to do that. I just don’t know if you have the capacity to do that.”
He recalled watching the original conflict unfold. “I was there when they had the first war; that was a long time ago,. You comported yourself very well, took it back very shortly. But it is a long way away,” he said.
The president returned repeatedly to the Hormuz Strait dispute, noting Britain receives “a big percentage” of its oil from that passage. He said he had asked NATO and Britain’s former leader why the UK had not sent “a couple of ships” to assist. The UK under Sir Keir Starmer initially declined to join the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, later agreeing only to “defensive” strikes against missile launchers while refusing Trump’s request for naval help reopening the strait. Trump subsequently called Starmer “no Churchill.”
Argentina’s president Javier Milei, described as a close Trump ally, escalated the Falklands rhetoric on Wednesday with a statement on X announcing a national broadcast for Thursday night at 9pm. He described the islands, known as Las Malvinas in Argentina, as a “SACRED” issue and declared Argentina’s sovereignty remained violated.
“We will continue defending the interests of the Argentine nation with tooth and nail, no matter who it bothers,” Milei wrote.
The UK government maintains that its position on the Falklands is “long-standing and unwavering.” Islanders voted 99.8 percent to remain a British overseas territory in a 2013 referendum, with just three votes against.
The territorial dispute has spilled into sports culture recently. Argentina’s national soccer team displayed a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Falklands are Argentine” — after a World Cup semifinal against England.
Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of the Commons Defence Select Committee, has warned that Britain faces a significantly increased threat level and urged the government to find additional defense funding.
Milei’s Thursday night address from Buenos Aires is expected to outline his administration’s position on the islands.