Another week, another tirade against the UK from US President Donald Trump. The ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran has further inflamed tensions in the special relationship, which was already under strain from the US leader's capricious attacks. This week, Trump mocked the UK's navy, told allies to secure their own jet fuel from the Strait of Hormuz, and announced the US is considering leaving Nato.
The outbursts mark a departure from the previously friendly relationship between Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump has dismissed Starmer as 'no Winston Churchill', repeatedly mocked London's military capability, and criticised the UK's hesitation to approve the use of its airbases for US operations in the Middle East. The UK has refused to be drawn into the war, with Starmer insisting 'this is not our war, and we're not going to get dragged into it'.
Observers note parallels to the 1956 Suez Crisis, when Britain and France were forced to withdraw from Egypt under US and Soviet pressure. At that time, President Eisenhower condemned the idea of one law for the weak and another for the strong. Now, the shoe appears to be on the other foot, with the US pressuring its ally.
David Smith, the Guardian's Washington bureau chief, suggests Trump's focus on the UK stems from a genuine affection and sense of kinship, given his Scottish mother and cultural touchstones like Churchill and the second world war. However, this closeness comes with an entitlement that takes Britain for granted. Meanwhile, Starmer has announced the UK will seek a deeper partnership with the EU in light of the instability caused by the conflict.
