Mourners react as the bodies of seven British soldiers and Marines killed in Afghanistan pass along the High Street in Wootton Bassett, England, on June 29, 2010. Matt Cardy/Getty Images/File) CNN reports
President Donald Trump has issued a statement of high praise for British forces, calling them “great and very brave,” just days after sparking diplomatic outrage by claiming NATO allies stayed “off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.
The “U-Turn”
In a post on his Truth Social platform Saturday, Trump acknowledged the specific sacrifices made by the United Kingdom, noting that 457 British soldiers died during the conflict. “They were among the greatest of all warriors,” Trump wrote, adding that the bond between the U.S. and the U.K. is “too strong to ever be broken.”
This marks a sharp reversal from comments he made earlier in the week during a Fox News interview, where he downplayed the contributions of NATO allies. In those remarks, he suggested that while countries sent troops to Afghanistan, they “stayed a little back” and avoided direct combat—a claim that was factually incorrect and deeply offensive to veterans and officials in allied nations.
International Backlash
Trump’s initial comments drew immediate and furious condemnation from London. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the remarks as “insulting and frankly appalling,” pointing out that British troops fought in some of the most dangerous provinces, such as Helmand.
Prince Harry, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, also weighed in, stating that the sacrifices of allied troops “deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.”
Defense officials across Europe were quick to remind the President that the only time NATO’s “Article 5” collective defense clause has ever been invoked was by the United States following the September 11 attacks. Thousands of non-American troops, including 457 from the UK, 158 from Canada, and 89 from France, lost their lives fighting alongside American forces.
Diplomatic Damage Control
The President’s sudden praise appears to be an attempt to smooth over the diplomatic rift. While his new statement explicitly honors British sacrifices, it did not include a retraction of his broader skepticism about NATO’s utility, a stance that continues to cause anxiety among European leaders.
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