Donald Trump mocks Keir Starmer with scathing impersonation as he launches blistering attack on Britain's Navy - 'Send your two old broken-down aircraft carriers'

George Bunn
Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:27:10 +0000

President Donald Trump has mocked Sir Keir Starmer with an impression of the Prime Minister as the war of words between Washington and Westminster rumbles on.

The President said the Prime Minister had told him he had to "ask his team" when he was pushed to send "two old broken-down aircraft carriers" to the Middle East.

However, President Trump was also quick to praise King Charles, who he called a "nice guy".

It is the latest in attacks on the Prime Minister from the White House, after the Republican said Sir Keir is "not Winston Churchill" and has reportedly started calling the Prime Minister a "loser".

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Speaking at an White House Easter lunch, President Trump said: "The King is coming over here in two weeks, he’s a nice guy, King Charles.

“But should be our best but they weren’t our best. I said 'you have two, old broken-down aircraft carriers, do you think you could send them over?'"

Impersonating Sir Keir, Mr Trump added: "'Ohhh, I’ll have to ask my team.' I said: 'You’re the Prime Minister, you don’t have to.' 'No, no, no, I have to ask my team. My team has to meet, we’re meeting next week.'

"But the war already started. Next week the war’s going to be over...in three days."

Tensions have been rising between Sir Keir and President Trump as the White House has ramped up its attacks on Downing Street.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth rounded on Britain for failing to send warships to the region, saying “last time I checked there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well".

In the face of criticism by President Trump, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that "our job is to take decisions in the UK national interest".

She said: "Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a direct threat to global prosperity,” she said in a statement following the virtual meeting on Thursday. Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz.

"They must not prevail. To that effect, partners today called for the immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait and respect for the fundamental principles of freedom of navigation and the law of the sea."

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After chairing a video call with her European counterparts, Ms Cooper told broadcasters on Thursday: "We’ve taken a different view from the US from early on and we didn’t get drawn into offensive action in the Middle East, because we thought that there were real concerns about escalation risks, impact – including on the economy – and also the need for a proper plan.”

Ms Cooper ducked a question on whether Washington was still an ally, saying: "We want to see the conflict resolved, concluded, as rapidly as possible, because, frankly, that’s what’s best for the cost of living here in the UK."

Another meeting next Tuesday of military planners will consider how to "keep shipping safe for the long-term", Ms Cooper said, including looking at issues such as clearing mines that have possibly been laid by Tehran to sink ships in the sea passage.

On Thursday, a UN resolution on reopening the Strait of Hormuz was watered down following opposition from China, Russia and France ahead of an expected vote on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir has condemned a “reckless” Iranian attack on an oil refinery in Kuwait and confirmed the deployment of Britain’s rapid sentry air defence system to the Gulf country.

In a call with Kuwait’s crown prince, the Prime Minister also discussed co-ordinated efforts to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz oil and gas shipping lane blockaded by Iran in retaliation for the US-Israeli campaign against it.

Tehran fired drones and missiles at targets across the Middle East overnight and on Friday, setting a refinery on fire and damaging a desalination plant in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, President Trump threatened to hit Iran’s bridges and electric power plants, saying the US military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran.”

His comments came after a deadly US air strike on a major suspension bridge near Tehran, which the UN’s humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher said constituted a breach of international law.

Former British diplomat Mr Fletcher told the BBC: "You don’t hit civilian infrastructure. That includes hospitals. You don’t hit schools, you don’t hit energy sources, you don’t hit bridges. Those are war crimes."

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to his highness the Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah this morning.

"The Prime Minister began by condemning the reckless overnight drone attack on a Kuwaiti oil refinery.

“He reiterated that the UK stands with Kuwait and all our allies in the Gulf. They discussed the deployment of the UK’s Rapid Sentry air defence system to Kuwait, which will protect Kuwaiti and British personnel and interests in the region, while avoiding escalation into wider conflict."