The U.S. president’s comments suggest Charles’ state visit has done little to repair relations with the British premier.
LONDON — Donald Trump claimed King Charles “would have probably helped us with Iran” if he’d been in charge of the British response to the war.
The U.S. president’s comments — which came on Charles’ trip stateside — may cause embarrassment for the British monarch, who as head of state must be above party politics, and they suggest the visit has not healed rifts with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after deep disagreements over the Iran war.
Asked whether the days-long trip had repaired strains with Starmer, Trump told reporters Wednesday that the king is “fantastic” and a “great friend of mine.”
But he said of the war response: “I think if he were doing that, if that were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran.
“He would’ve followed the suggestions we made with respect to Ukraine, because we have some disagreements on Ukraine, not having to do with NATO so much as European countries.”
Trump added: “He’s an extraordinary person. And yeah, it helps from the standpoint that, you know, when you like the king of a country so much, it probably helps your relationship with the prime minister.
“But you know in that case, the prime minister I said you want to send a little help? He said, no, we’ll send it after you win the war. I said, that’s not good, that’s not good.”
Trump has deployed a wide variety of insults against Starmer over the Middle East conflict, saying Starmer is “not Winston Churchill” and the special relationship is “not what it used to be.”
The PM has repeatedly resisted pressure to get involved in the Iran conflict, warning it is not in the U.K. national interest to do so.
In his speech to Congress Tuesday evening, King Charles backed a continued U.K.- U.S. alliance to “defend our shared values” and “ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking.”