President Donald Trump sparked outrage in Britain after falsely asserting that troops from NATO countries other than the United States stayed away from the front lines during the war in Afghanistan, remarks that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called “insulting and frankly appalling.”
Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News during a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said he was “not sure” NATO would come to the United States’ aid if Washington ever needed the alliance. “We’ve never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them,” Trump said. “You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
The remarks provoked anger and distress across the United Kingdom, where more than 150,000 British troops served in Afghanistan following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Britain lost 457 service members in the conflict, according to the government. Among those who served was Prince Harry, who later said he killed 25 Taliban terrorists while deployed as an Apache helicopter co-pilot.
Starmer rejected Trump’s comments, saying they dishonored those who fought and died alongside U.S. forces. “I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made for their country,” Starmer said. “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling and I am not surprised they have caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured and, in fact, across the country.”
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Starmer emphasized the close relationship between Britain and the United States, noting that the two countries fought “shoulder to shoulder” in Afghanistan. Asked about calls from bereaved families for him to demand an apology from Trump, Starmer stopped short of doing so, but said, “If I had spoken wrongly in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologize.”
The White House did not directly address Trump’s remarks about NATO troops. In a statement responding to the criticism in Britain, deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said the president was right to highlight what she described as the disparity between U.S. defense contributions and those of other NATO members.
Kelly said Trump was right to argue that U.S. contributions to NATO exceed those of other member countries, and that his push for allies to commit to spending 5% of their budgets on defense was prompting Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security. She added that the United States is the only NATO member capable of defending Greenland and said the president was acting in what he views as the alliance’s interests.
Trump’s comments came amid renewed tension between Washington and Europe over Greenland, a vast Arctic island that belongs to Denmark. In recent weeks, Trump repeatedly said the United States should take control of Greenland, arguing that if it did not, Russia or China would. The prospect of a U.S. takeover without the consent of Denmark or Greenland alarmed NATO allies, some of whom warned it could spell the end of the alliance.
Earlier this week, European leaders expressed relief after Trump appeared to back away from threats to seize Greenland by force and to impose tariffs on European countries that opposed such a move. Those tariffs had been set to take effect Feb. 1 but have not been implemented.
During his Davos visit, Trump said he had reached an understanding with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Arctic security, though he later acknowledged that details were not finalized. Trump claimed any future deal would guarantee the United States “full and permanent access” to Greenland. NATO has said Rutte did not offer any compromise on Danish sovereignty over the island.
The war in Afghanistan began in October 2001, nearly a month after the September 11 attacks, when a U.S.-led coalition invaded to dismantle al-Qaida and remove its Taliban hosts. NATO’s collective defense clause was invoked for the first and only time in response to the attacks, and troops from dozens of allied countries fought alongside U.S. forces.
The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, nearly 20 years after the invasion. The Taliban quickly retook control of the country, imposing strict Islamic rule and declaring victory after a chaotic Western withdrawal that left thousands of Afghans who had assisted foreign forces behind.
The conflict became the longest war in U.S. history. More than 3,500 foreign troops were killed in Afghanistan, including more than 2,400 Americans, and nearly 23,000 were wounded, most of them from the United States.