“President Trump has nearly grasped the deal — nearly — but I’ll be dining at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night to emphasize that it was the worst deal in history,” Farage stated at a “Save Chagos” boat party in London on Thursday night.
Farage’s visit itinerary has not been publicly disclosed by his party, and it’s unclear who he will dine with. Farage aims to secure a meeting with senior officials or Trump himself. The White House did not respond to a comment request.
This occurs during a week when Starmer faced the president’s wrath over the Iran conflict and the Chagos Islands deal. The president mocked Starmer as “no Winston Churchill” after the U.K. initially blocked U.S. operations against Iran from some British bases.
Trump is also upset about the deal transferring sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius. Starmer insists his lease-back deal is crucial for maintaining the U.K.-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia.
Starmer hasn’t communicated with Trump since their Saturday call. Since then, the PM has stated Britain will not partake in airstrikes on Iran, claiming he doesn’t support “regime change from the skies.” However, he allowed limited use of British bases for striking Iranian missile stores. British ambassador to D.C. Christian Turner met with Trump ally and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham for discussions on Iran and Ukraine this week.
Defense Secretary John Healey has issued strong criticism against opposition politicians who have gone to the U.S. to lobby the Trump administration against the government’s Chagos deal. He told reporters accompanying him on a trip to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which was attacked by an Iranian drone strike over the weekend, that they are behaving in an “unpatriotic” way that “undermines Britain.”
Leave a Reply