President Donald Trump has moved swiftly to correct the record over remarks that angered British leaders and veterans, issuing a glowing tribute to the United Kingdom’s armed forces and underlining what he described as an unbreakable military partnership between London and Washington.
The US president said British soldiers were “among the greatest of all warriors” and hailed them as “great and very brave”, following criticism of comments he had made about allied contributions during the Afghanistan conflict.
Writing on Truth Social after a phone call with the Prime Minister, Mr Trump praised the courage of UK service personnel and highlighted the sacrifices they made alongside American forces. He noted that 457 British troops died in Afghanistan and many more were wounded, calling the shared history between the two nations’ militaries “a bond too strong to ever be broken”.
He added that the UK armed forces, with “tremendous heart and soul”, were “second to none”, aside from those of the United States, concluding with the words, “We love you all, and always will.”
The intervention followed a storm of criticism after Mr Trump told Fox News earlier in the week that he was “not sure” America’s allies would support the US in a future conflict. Speaking about Afghanistan, he suggested that some partner nations had kept their forces away from the fiercest fighting, a remark that prompted swift condemnation in Britain.
The Prime Minister released a video describing the comments as “insulting and frankly appalling”, while senior political figures across the spectrum, including Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage and Sir Ed Davey, also spoke out in defence of British troops.
Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan, said the sacrifices of UK soldiers should be discussed “truthfully and with respect”. After Saturday’s call between Downing Street and the White House, the Prime Minister’s office said the leaders had spoken about “the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home”.
Mrs Badenoch later welcomed Mr Trump’s statement, saying she was pleased he had acknowledged the role of British service personnel and those who lost their lives fighting alongside allies. “It should never have been questioned in the first place,” she said.
Prince Harry declined to comment on the latest remarks, although a friend noted that the US president had not issued a formal apology and had not referred to other Nato countries that also suffered heavy losses on the front line.
The United States entered Afghanistan in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks, seeking to topple the Taliban government that was accused of sheltering Osama bin Laden. Britain went on to suffer the second highest number of military deaths in the campaign, with 457 fatalities, compared with 2,461 American losses. More than 3,500 coalition troops were killed before US forces withdrew in 2021.
Mr Trump’s latest statement struck a markedly different tone, celebrating Britain’s martial tradition and the depth of the transatlantic alliance, and insisting that the two nations’ soldiers, forged in combat together, would remain bound by history, sacrifice and mutual respect.
