US President Donald Trump has again taken aim at the UK’s military support in the Middle East, denigrating its aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, as “toys”.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the start of a White House Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump criticised the speed at which the UK sent help in the days following the joint Israeli-US attacks on Iran almost one month ago. <\/p>\n
“We had the UK say that \u2018we\u2019ll send\u2019 \u2013 this is three weeks ago \u2013 \u2018we\u2019ll send our aircraft carriers\u2019, which aren\u2019t the best aircraft carriers by the way,” he said. “They’re toys compared to what we have.”<\/p>\n
\u201cBut \u2018we\u2019ll send our aircraft carrier when the war is over\u2019. I said \u2018Oh that\u2019s wonderful, thank you very much. Don\u2019t bother. We don\u2019t need it,’\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He also directed part of his tirade, once again, at Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying: \u201cI think he\u2019s a lovely man, but I think he did something that was shocking. He didn\u2019t want to help us.\u201d <\/p>\n
The US president, however, denied that the transatlantic tensions would affect the King\u2019s planned visit to the US<\/a>, insisting that it would go ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be here very soon, as you know, we\u2019re going have a state dinner,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going be great,\u201d he added.There have been calls for the historic royal trip to be scrapped or delayed because of the ongoing Middle East crisis.The tour has yet to be officially announced, but the King and Queen are expected to visit Washington and New York in April to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.<\/p>\n Trump also lashed out at NATO allies, saying they did “absolutely nothing” to help the US in the ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n “Now they all want to help. When they\u2019re annihilated, the other side is annihilated; they will say, ‘we\u2019d love to send ships,'” he said. <\/p>\n This is not the first time the US president has critiqued the UK’s military capabilities or its lack of involvement in the ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Trump told reporters Sir Keir Starmer is “no Winston Churchill” after the PM refused to permit the use of UK bases for the first strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n The US had wanted to use the military base in Diego Garcia on the Chagos Islands, but Starmer said bases should only be used for defensive purposes.<\/p>\n