Donald Trump condemns Starmer’s ‘great stupidity’ for giving away Chagos Islands in ‘act of total weakness’
Donald Trump today accused Sir Keir Starmer of “giving away” Diego Garcia to Mauritius “for no reason at all” in “an act of great stupidity” which he believes justifies his demand to seize Greenland.
‘There is no doubt that China and Russia noticed this act of complete weakness in the Chagos Islands,’ the US President said.
Mr Trump once again used his anger over Diego Garcia to justify why Greenland should be given to the US and called on Denmark and its European allies to ‘do the right thing’.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer branded Donald Trump’s trade war threats against Greenland ‘completely false’ at a Downing Street press conference.
Hours earlier, Trump had written a message to the Norwegian Prime Minister stating that since the Nobel Peace Prize had not been awarded, he “no longer felt the obligation to think only about peace.”
Trump said in a post on Truth Social today: ‘Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is now planning to give Diego Garcia Island, a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and is doing so WITHOUT ANY REASON. There is no doubt that China and Russia noticed this act of complete weakness. These are International Powers that recognize only POWER, which is why, under my leadership, the United States of America is respected like never before after just one year.
‘The UK donating hugely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY and is another National Security reason why Greenland should be purchased. Denmark and its European Allies MUST DO THE RIGHT THING.
‘Thank you for your interest in this matter. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.’
The British Government signed an agreement in May to return sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius; The deal will also see Britain lease back its strategically important military base in Diego Garcia for £101 million a year.
Donald Trump goes nuclear over Labor’s $30bn plan to hand over vital archipelago to Mauritius
Trump’s Chagos blast comes after Sir Keir Starmer responds to President’s desire to seize Greenland
Donald Trump claimed that Britain’s decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was among the reasons he wanted to seize Greenland.
The US President, who went to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, made this claim while increasing the rhetoric of seizing the Arctic lands.
‘We must have it. They need to do this. They can’t protect Denmark, they’re great people,” Trump told reporters in Florida.
‘I know the leaders, they are very good people, but they don’t even go there.’
Mr. Trump then made a series of posts on the Truth Social platform on Tuesday about taking over Greenland, a territory of America’s NATO ally, the Kingdom of Denmark.
He said he had a “very good” phone conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about Greenland.
‘As I have made very clear to everyone, Greenland is essential to National and World Security. ‘There can be no turning back – Everyone agrees on that!’ he said in one post.
It comes days after Chagos islanders made a last-ditch appeal to Donald Trump to veto Labour’s £30bn plan to hand over the vital archipelago to Mauritius.
Islanders’ First Minister Misley Mandarin has warned in a letter to the US President that a ‘very bad deal’ would ‘put at risk’ the strategically important UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.
Mr Mandarin said the deal, brokered by Keir Starmer’s controversial National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, could give China ‘leverage’ over the base, which is seen as a critical military asset in the Indian Ocean.
Mauritius says it will ‘retain sovereignty over every inch of the US base’.
Mr. Mandarin suggests that grateful Chagossians might even be prepared to name an island after President Trump to ‘mark the moment when America chose power, justice and long-term security over short-term solutions.’
Diego Garcia: home of a critical UK-US military base said to be the envy of China
UK ministers insist the deal is necessary to secure the future of the base following a long-running sovereignty dispute. They agreed to pay Mauritius a total of £30 billion in exchange for a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia, over which Britain currently has sovereignty.
The agreement would also end the possibility of Chagossian people returning to the islands they were forced to abandon in the late 1960s to allow the construction of a military base.
The government suffered four defeats in the Lords earlier this month over legislation needed to bring the deal with Mauritius into effect.
The White House has previously stated that it is willing to continue the agreement.
But critics believe President Trump was never given the full picture of the risk this would pose to US operations in the Indian Ocean.
Mr. Mandarin says pausing the agreement would mean ‘a just and safe solution becomes possible’ in which the Chagossians could one day return home.
