Donald Trump has issued a firm warning to the UK and Keir Starmer regarding the prime minister’s decision to relinquish control of the Chagos Islands.
Last year, the Trump administration expressed support for the UK government’s plan, with Trump indicating to Starmer that he believed it was ‘going to work out very well’.
However, Trump has since changed his stance, stating in a recent Truth Social post that Starmer is ‘making a big mistake by entering [into] a 100-year lease’ with Mauritius.
In a detailed Truth Social post, Trump stated: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.
“Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature.”
The islands host a joint US-UK military installation, which explains Trump’s keen interest in the situation.
Trump further stated: “Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease. This land should not be taken away from the U.K. and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.”
Recently, Trump criticized the UK for ‘great stupidity’ in agreeing to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, withdrawing his earlier support for the agreement.
Once again using Truth Social as his platform, the former president wrote: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
Trump concluded: “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”
In response to President Trump’s comments, the UK government affirmed that it would ‘never compromise on our national security’.