The U.K. and the U.S. have always had a special relationship and, despite Donald Trump doing everything in his power to turn the world against him, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has constantly tried to appease the president (much to the ire of many in the U.K.). However, Trump’s threats against Greenland have finally prompted Starmer to take a stand, albeit a rather feeble one.
Trump has made it clear he’s dead set on Greenland and the NATO allies can no longer ignore his threats. Last week, Denmark announced that it would increase its military presence in the country and NATO allies sent a symbolic number of troops along as a show of support. Between The U.K., France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, the number of soldiers sent in support has been estimated at around 50 or fewer, with only one soldier being sent from the U.K.
The number of military officers may seem laughably small, but it’s more of a symbolic show of support in the hopes that it will prompt Trump to back down.
Donald Trump responds in the expected way
Of course, Trump’s fragile ego will likely cause this whole mess to be dragged out longer than necessary and, unsurprisingly, the U.S. president decided against diplomacy, opting instead to blow the dust off his old tariffs and bring those into play once again.
Trump slapped tariffs on all the European countries that pledged to defend Greenland, even the U.K. It seems Starmer’s year spent fawning over Trump was just a waste of time and a huge embarrassment. (We could have told him that a year ago).
Over the weekend The U.K. prime minister called Trump on the phone to reiterate his own stance on Greenland and to tell him that his plan to apply tariffs over this situation was “wrong.” It’s hard to imagine this dissuaded Trump in any meaningful way. In the past, Starmer was able to help persuade Trump over his support for Ukraine, but it looks like the president is too far gone this time.
With Keir Starmer finally taking a stand against Trum,p it seems the longstanding friendship between the U.S. and the U.K. is in jeopardy. It only took a year for Trump to burn every bridge between America and the rest of the world and still, even now, he refuses to back down. His decision to punish the U.K. and the rest of the European countries that vowed to protect Greenland will only further isolate the U.S. and weaken the country.
