US President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticised the UK's deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, calling it an "act of great stupidity" and "total weakness." Trump said that relinquishing the remote Indian Ocean archipelago — home to a key joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island — was "another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired." "Shockingly, our 'brilliant' NATO ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US military base, to Mauritius, and to do so for no reason whatsoever," he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
00:00U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a blistering attack on Britain,
00:16calling Keir Starmer's plan to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius one of great stupidity.
00:23However, the Trump administration had approved the deal when it was negotiated last year,
00:27accepting the Downing Street argument that this would remove the risk of the U.K. and the U.S.
00:32losing access to Diego Garcia under international law.
00:36Trump now says this is a sign of total weakness and great stupidity.
00:41Writing on his Truth Social platform,
00:44the U.S. President said the deal is
00:46The criticism comes just one day after Keir Starmer called for calm
00:56among the U.S. and NATO allies as tensions mount over Trump's threats to Greenland.
01:01I talk regularly to President Trump and my team is in daily contact with all the key figures in his administration.
01:11These relationships matter.
01:14They deliver concrete outcomes in the national interest.
01:18Mature alliances are not about pretending differences don't exist.
01:27They are about addressing them directly, respectfully, and with a focus on results.
01:33On Greenland, the right way to approach an issue of this seriousness is through calm discussion between allies.
01:44And let's be clear, the security of Greenland matters.
01:49And it will matter more as climate change reshapes the Arctic,
01:54as sea routes open and strategic competition intensifies.
01:58The high north will require greater attention, greater investment, and stronger collective defence.
02:05The U.S. will be central to that effort, and the U.K. stands ready to contribute fully alongside our allies through NATO.
02:18But there is a principle here that cannot be set aside,
02:23because it goes to the heart of how stable and trusted international cooperation works.
02:30And so any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone.
02:44That right is fundamental, and we support it.
02:51Denmark is a close ally of the United Kingdom and of the United States,
02:55a proud NATO member that has stood shoulder to shoulder with us,
03:02including at real human cost in recent decades.
03:07Alliances endure because they're built on respect and partnership, not pressure.
03:16That is why I said the use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong.
03:22It is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance.
03:29Nor is it helpful to frame efforts to strengthen Greenland's security as a justification for economic pressure.
03:39Such measures hurt British workers, British businesses, and the British economy.
03:45And that is why I've been so clear on this issue.
03:51A trade war is in no one's interest.
03:55And my job is always to act in the U.K.'s national interest.
04:00That is why yesterday I spoke to President Trump, to European leaders, and to the Secretary General of NATO.
04:10To find a solution rooted in partnership, facts, and mutual respect.
04:18Because that is how strong alliances protect shared interests.
04:22The United Kingdom has issued a strong rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump's condemnation of a sovereignty agreement concerning the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
04:48A U.K. government spokesperson asserted that the nation will never compromise on our national security, directly countering Trump's characterization of the deal as an act of great stupidity.
05:00Last year, Keir Starmer agreed a controversial deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while retaining control of the U.K.-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia.
05:10The U.K. has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million annually during the 99-year agreement to lease back the site, a total cost in cash terms of at least £13 billion.
05:22Earlier, Republican and Louisiana Senator John Kennedy warned the United Kingdom that it could damage its relationship with the United States if it threatened the future of the joint U.S.-U.K. military base on the island of Diego Garcia by ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
05:37This is India.
05:42This is China, which wants to run the whole world.
05:47China's already trying to take over the shipping lanes in the South China Sea.
05:53This is the Chagos Islands, right down here.
05:59Years ago, the Chagos Islands were owned by France.
06:03France ceded the Chagos Islands to our friends in Great Britain, U.K.
06:12And a number of years ago, the United Kingdom and America got together and we built, mostly with American dollars, by the way,
06:20we built a military base in the Chagos Islands on one particular island called Diego Garcia.
06:29And it's a really important military base.
06:31For one thing, it's very close to the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean in China, so we can watch them.
06:37For another thing, it's where, it's one of the only port, bases where our nuclear submarines can dock.
06:50Hugely important.
06:51Well, the United Nations got mad at the United Kingdom.
07:01They said, Great Britain, you're bad people.
07:07You used to be colonialists.
07:09You acquired other countries, sometimes freely, sometimes by force.
07:17Every country I know of in the world of any strength has done that.
07:22Doesn't mean we ought to be proud of it, but it's part of our history.
07:26But the United Nations said, Shame on you, U.K.
07:29Shame on you.
07:30Bad, bad, bad, bad.
07:32You have to give back the Chagos Islands and the military base there.
07:39And the U.N., the U.N. doesn't have any jurisdiction over the United Kingdom.
07:44But the U.N. said, not only do you have to give it back,
07:47but you don't give it back to the people of the Chagos Islands.
07:51You give it back to another group of islands way down here called Mauritius.
07:56Mauritius used to own the Chagos Islands when France ceded them to Great Britain.
08:07They were run by Mauritius.
08:08But the people of the two island groups, archipelagos,
08:13the people don't have any affinity.
08:17Now, what's Mauritius say?
08:19Of course, we'll take it.
08:21But they want to start charging the United States and the U.K.
08:289 billion pounds for a 99-year lease.
08:36So we can lease our own military base.
08:39All because the prime minister of the United Kingdom feels guilty
08:45because somebody, some tofu-eating wokarati at the United Nations
08:52says they're bad people, bad, bad, bad, bad colonialists.
08:58Well, and the prime minister of the United Kingdom,
09:04he's going along with it.
09:05But he says, I'm negotiating with Mauritius.
09:08And the leader of Mauritius just issued a press release and said,
09:13yeah, he's negotiating.
09:15He's increased the price.
09:17And he's shorting the leash.
09:19Now, you know who's loving all of this?
09:21China.
09:23Because China has a close relationship with Mauritius.
09:27And you know what?
09:28It's going to get a lot closer.
09:32This is insane.
09:34This is sell-deep stupid.
09:36This is bone-deep down to the mare of stupid.
09:42Because the United Nations wants the United Kingdom to feel guilty,
09:47they want to give our military base and their military base to Mauritius.
09:54Now, the prime minister of the United Kingdom can stop this.
09:59And Marco Rubio, our new Secretary of State, is against it.
10:03And I haven't talked to him directly, but I think President Trump is against it.
10:09The United Kingdom is our friend.
10:11I went to school there for a while.
10:13I love him.
10:14And I want to see their prime minister do well.
10:17But he needs to put down the bong.
10:19He needs to put down the bong.
10:23This makes absolutely no sense.
10:28And it's going to be a big part of his legacy.
10:31If he gives away this island and our military base,
10:36in effect, what will eventually be China.
10:39So I would say to the prime minister tonight,
10:43I don't mean any disrespect.
10:44I want to say this respectfully.
10:46I shouldn't have said the bong part.
10:49I take it back.
10:51Please, Mr. Prime Minister, don't do this.
10:54Don't do this.
10:56We'll stand with you in telling the United Nations who's upset with you
11:02to go fill out a hurt feelings report because we're not doing it.
11:05We'll stand with you.
11:06Please say no.
11:08Don't give our military base away.
11:11It's going to really hurt the relationship
11:13between the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
11:16I know Donald Trump pretty well.
11:19I know Marco Rubio pretty well.
11:22They'll forgive, but they'll never, ever forget.
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