Trump cites UK’s ‘stupidity’ over Chagos Islands as reason to take over Greenland | Chagos Islands
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 traveled to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, made the claim as he stepped up his rhetoric about seizing Arctic territory.
Trump made a series of posts on the Truth Social platform on Tuesday about taking over Greenland, a region of the US’ NATO ally Denmark.
Writing on his website, Trump said, “Astonishingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is planning to give Diego Garcia Island, now a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and is doing so WITHOUT ANY REASON.”
“There is no doubt that China and Russia recognized this act of total weakness. These are International Powers that recognize only POWER, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is respected like never before after just one year.
“The UK donating hugely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY and is yet another National Security reason why Greenland should be acquired.”
The move will be a huge shock for No. 10, following US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. gave warm support to the handover when it was first approved.
A UK government spokesman said: “The UK will never compromise our national security. We took action because the base at Diego Garcia was under threat after court rulings undermined our position and could prevent it from operating as intended in the future.
“This agreement secures the operations of the joint US-UK base in Diego Garcia for generations and provides robust provisions that will keep its unique capabilities intact and keep our adversaries out.
“This agreement has been publicly welcomed by the United States, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners such as India, Japan and South Korea.”
Trump’s comments will fuel criticism of the move from Conservatives and Reformists, who cite US concerns as a reason to reject a deal with Mauritius.
Immediately following the comments, shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “President Trump has said what we have said all along: Labor’s £35bn Chagos handover is a bad deal for Britain and bad for our national security. We have opposed it from day one and it is time for Starmer to put the security of our country first and scrap his rotten deal.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Paying to surrender the Chagos islands is not only an act of stupidity, but also complete self-sabotage. I have spoken out and unfortunately President Trump is right on this.”
“Keir Starmer’s plan to give away the Chagos Islands is a terrible policy that undermines the UK’s security and takes away our sovereign territory. Moreover, it leaves us and our NATO allies even weaker vis-à-vis our enemies.”
Badenoch said he met with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night, where he agreed that the transfer of the islands was a mistake.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Thank goodness Trump vetoed the surrender of the Chagos islands.”
The prime minister’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, suggested Trump’s intervention would have no impact on the UK’s deal with Mauritius. “We have made an agreement with the Mauritius government, we have legislated for the process, we have accepted the terms of the agreement that has been signed,” he told Sky News. “This is the way to ensure the security of the military base for the next 100 years.”
Jones said Starmer remained calm about criticism as well as threatened tariffs against the UK over its support for Greenland. “We disagree with President Trump on Greenland and the prime minister has been very clear on that. The prime minister has shown in the past that dedicated, appropriate British diplomacy can work… he has a good track record on that,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“It’s noisy, I understand that, it’s not normal to have difficult, geopolitical discussions this way. But British diplomacy is working.”
Britain has signed a £3.4bn deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius but the deal faces serious opposition in the House of Lords. On Monday, Andrew Rosundall, an MP who switched from the Conservatives to Reform England, cited failure to defend the Chagos Islands as the main reason for leaving the party.
According to the agreement, Britain leaves control of the islands to Mauritius, but leases the largest island, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating the US-UK joint military base there.
Downing Street has said in the past that the agreement was a “legal requirement” and was supported by the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which are part of an intelligence-sharing partnership with the UK. In 2021, a UN tribunal gave an advisory opinion that the UK does not have rightful sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago.
When the agreement was signed in May 2025, Rubio said the United States “welcomes the historic agreement.” The statement continued: “This is a critical asset for regional and global security. President Trump expressed his support for this monumental achievement during his meeting with Prime Minister Starmer at the White House.
“This milestone reflects the enduring strength of US-UK relations.”
Critics of the transfer said the agreement gave China an opening in the region due to its close relations with Mauritius. Trump has regularly cited fear of Chinese influence as a reason for U.S. intent to seize Greenland.
Starmer is not expected to go to Davos to meet Trump; But Trump also posted on Truth Social a text from French president Emmanuel Macron asking the US president to convene a summit of world leaders in Davos to talk about the Greenland crisis.
