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EXCLUSIVE: A security expert has criticised Trump's recent verbal attacks on Starmer, explaining that both nations need each other.
16:00, Sun, Mar 8, 2026 Updated: 16:14, Sun, Mar 8, 2026
Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Sir Keir Starmer in recent weeks (Image: Getty)
Donald Trump is trying to "drive a coach and horses" through his relationship with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. A security expert has described the US President as a "playground bully", adding his continued verbal attacks on Starmer need to be taken seriously.
Trump recently said Starmer is "no Winston Churchill" in a row over the UK's refusal to hand over their bases for US-Israel strikes on Iran. The Prime Minister has since granted permission for the US to use UK bases as well as two British aircraft carriers. It was reported on Saturday (March 7) that the HMS Prince of Wales is being readied for possible deployment in the Middle East. However, Trump appeared to decline the offer on Truth Social, telling Starmer that "we don't need them any longer".
Professor Anthony Glees, security expert at the University of Buckingham, has slammed the repeated insults from Trump. He explained that neither the US nor the UK can afford for their relationship to disintegrate, describing the current situation as a "lover's spat".
He told the Daily Express: "Trump is doing his level best to drive a coach and horses through the 'Special Relationship' and, very sadly, our prime minister is not strong enough to restrain him. Trump has repeatedly insulted the prime minister and, far more shamefully, the 457 UK soldiers who died serving in Afghanistan, and can't put him right when accused by the US president of 'staying back off the front line."
He added: "Trump's most recent verbal attacks on Starmer (who he has repeatedly in private called 'a loser with no future') go way beyond what the playground bully does when he picks on someone weaker."
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Professor Anthony Glees has criticised Trump's treatment of Starmer (Image: University of Buckingham)
Trump previously told reporters that Starmer is "no Winston Churchill" after the Prime Minister refused the US permission to use the military base in Diego Garcia on the Chagos Islands. The President said he was "not happy with the UK", adding that the decision meant US planes would have to fly "many extra hours".
However, Professor Glees said that Trump "is no Churchill either". He described the comparison as "deeply sour", explaining: "Unlike the man who saved Britain in 1940, when we stood alone whilst the USA watched from the sidelines, Churchill had fought as a soldier in the Boer War and WW1.
"Trump, on the other hand, managed to gain an exemption from military service in Vietnam, claiming he had an extra bone in his foot so couldn't march."
Despite Trump's recent criticism of Starmer, the US needs the UK as an ally, according to Professor Glees. This is despite the Republican leader saying on Saturday that his war in Iran had already been won.
Trump said Starmer is 'no Winston Churchill' (Image: Getty)
He posted on Truth Social: "The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That's OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don't need them any longer - but we will remember. We don't need people that join wars after we've already won!"
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On the claim the war is already won, Professor Glees said: "What's more the war is not going well for the USA. Iran has not capitulated; many who follow the ayatollahs prefer death to surrender and the most likely outcome to the war, the disintegration of Iran, with millions of refugees and killings and explosions without end suits no one."
He added: "Starmer seems too unsure of himself to stand his ground. He cannot fight back (that would simply confirm Trump's view that the 'marriage' is over) nor can he gain strength by saying 'ok, that's it, we're off'."
English (US) · 