UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Friday denounced as “insulting” President Donald Trump’s claim that troops from NATO allies avoided the front line in Afghanistan, as anger grows at the US president’s remarks.
In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers were among NATO troops who died during the conflict in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told the US outlet, referring to NATO allies.
“And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” he added, triggering outrage across the political divide in Britain.
Trump also repeated his suggestion that NATO would not come to the aid of the US if asked to do so.
In fact, following the 9/11 attacks, the UK and several European countries joined the US in Afghanistan after it invoked NATO’s collective security clause for the first and only time.
Soldiers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and others also died in the conflict.
“Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan,” Starmer said in a video message.
“There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries, and so I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.”
He said that if he had misspoken in such a way, he “would certainly apologise”.
The White House rejected Starmer’s comments and defended the president.
“President Trump is absolutely right — the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement sent to AFP.
