Speaking about the US’s global partners, Trump said: “We’ve never needed them. We’ve never really asked anything of them.
“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan ... and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front line.”
Prince Harry – who served in Afghanistan – responded to the President’s remarks, saying that the “sacrifices” of British soldiers must be “spoken about truthfully and with respect”.
Starmer also published a video calling Trump’s remarks “insulting and frankly appalling”.
Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage and Sir Ed Davey also condemned the remarks.
On Saturday afternoon (local time), the Prime Minister spoke to Trump on the phone, raising his concerns in a discussion that touched on “the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home”.
‘Bond too strong to be broken’
After the call, Trump released a public statement honouring the “GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom”.
He said: “In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.
“The UK Military with tremendous Heart and Soul is second to none (except for the USA!). We love you all, and always will!”
Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: “I’m pleased President Trump has now acknowledged the role of the British armed forces and those brave men and women who gave their lives fighting alongside the US and our allies.
“It should never have been questioned in the first place.”
Prince Harry declined to comment on Trump’s latest statement. However, a friend noted that the US President had not apologised, nor had he mentioned any of the other Nato countries that had served on the front lines, incurring between them hundreds of deaths.
The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to oust the Taliban, who it claimed was harbouring Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 terror attacks.
Britain suffered the second-highest number of military deaths in the conflict, sacrificing 457 troops, while the US saw 2461 fatalities.
More than 3500 coalition soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, before the US withdrew in 2021.
No 10 said that the two leaders also discussed “the need for bolstered security in the Arctic”, which Starmer said “was an absolute priority for his Government”, in their afternoon call.
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