The US president, increasingly frustrated by what he sees as a lack of military support from allies, reportedly put on a “weak-sounding voice” to imitate Starmer, according to several accounts of the Easter lunch that have since emerged in video footage.
“I asked the UK, who should be our best,” Trump told guests, according to a recording. “I said, ‘you have two, old broken-down aircraft carriers, do you think you could send them over?’”
Then, mimicking the Prime Minister’s supposed indecisiveness, Trump added in a feeble voice: “Ohhh I’ll have to ask my team.” When the president retorted that he was the Prime Minister and didn’t need to, news24x7 Trump claimed Starmer replied: “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,” Trump reportedly shot back.
The extraordinary put-down—a blend of schoolyard mimicry and brutal political theatre—represents a stunning new low in transatlantic relations. And it could not have come at a more delicate moment, with the UK poised to host a virtual summit of more than 35 nations to resolve one of the most dangerous maritime crises in decades.
🚢 The World’s Most Dangerous Chokepoint: Why Hormuz Matters to You
Before diving deeper into the political fallout, it’s worth understanding why this obscure stretch of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula has suddenly become the centre of global attention.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.At its narrowest point, it’s just 21 miles wide—barely a stone’s throw in geopolitical terms. Yet through this tiny sliver of sea passes one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
When Iran, effectively shuttered the strait in retaliation for US-Israeli airstrikes that began on February 28, the consequences were immediate and brutal. The global benchmark Brent crude price has skyrocketed from around $73 a barrel to well over $100.Shipping costs and insurance premiums have soared. The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has called the disruption “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
But it’s not just about oil. The crisis is disrupting the supply of fertilizers (critical for global food security), sulfur (used in EV batteries), methanol (a key chemical feedstock for plastics), and aluminium. That means higher food prices, slower manufacturing, and a direct hit to the cost of living for ordinary families across the world—including in Britain.
🇬🇧 The UK’s Bold Gamble: Diplomacy Over Deployment
In the face of this spiralling crisis, Starmer has adopted a strategy that is both principled and politically risky: diplomacy over direct military action.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister made his position crystal clear from a Downing Street press conference.”This is not our war,” he stated bluntly. “We will not be drawn into the wider conflict because that is not in our national interest”.
