Donald Trump’s climbdown over his claim that UK troops avoided the frontline in Afghanistan has been greeted with cross-party relief in Westminster despite his failure to apologise for remarks widely condemned as offensive and false.
In a rare clarification, the US president praised British troops as being “among the greatest of all warriors” and acknowledged that 457 had died in Afghanistan. “The UK military, with tremendous heart and soul, is second to none (except for the USA). We love you all, and always will!” he wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. His post came two days after he told Fox News that the US had “never needed” its allies in Afghanistan and that Nato troops had “stayed a little back, a little off the frontlines”.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said the clarification was “as good as it gets” with Trump. Keir Starmer had condemned Trump’s initial comments as “insulting and frankly appalling”. The president’s climbdown is reported to have come after King Charles relayed his concerns about the Fox interview through diplomatic channels.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, told the BBC: “It was quite appalling for Donald Trump to make those comments, so I am relieved he’s backed down, and grateful to the king for his intervention.” The shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, told Sky News: “I think he is [sorry]. I think he clearly recognises that what he has said was wrong.” Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, reposted Trump’s clarification, adding: “Important to have the record set straight.”
William Spencer, the principal military specialist at the National Archives, addressed Trump on X, saying: “Progress but no apology! Perhaps you would not have got to this point if you had sought advice before your first statement.”
