British soldiers are ‘great and brave’: Trump backtracks on Afghanistan slur
Sunday, 25 January 2026
Donald Trump has backtracked on claims British troops stayed away from the front line in Afghanistan.
In a statement posted on Truth Social the US president said that British soldiers were “among the greatest of all warriors” and were “GREAT and very BRAVE”.
He added that the bond between the British and American military was “too strong ever to be broken”.
Trump issued the statement after Sir Keir Starmer said it was “wrong” to diminish the role of Nato and British troops in Afghanistan where 457 British service personnel were killed.
Prince Harry also responded, saying the “sacrifices” of British soldiers who served and died in Afghanistan “deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect”.
On Thursday, Trump told Fox News that he was “not sure” the military alliance would be there for the US “if we needed them”, adding that in Afghanistan US allies “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
The full statement posted by Trump on Saturday (Sunday NZT) said:
It is understood that Starmer spoke to Trump shortly before the latter issued his statement.
During the call the Prime Minister raised the US president’s comments about British troops directly.
Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, welcomed Trump’s reversal. She said: “I’m pleased President Trump has now acknowledged the role of the British Armed Forces and those brave men and women who gave their lives fighting alongside the US and our allies. It should never have been questioned in the first place.”
‘Frankly appalling’
Speaking about the US’s allies, Trump had told Fox News: “We’ve never needed them. We’ve never really asked anything of them.
“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan … and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front line.”
On Friday, Sir Keir said the remarks were “insulting and frankly appalling”.
“I want to pay tribute to the 457 [members] of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan. I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made for their country,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “The president was wrong to diminish the role of Nato troops, including British forces.”
He added that Nato soldiers made sacrifices “in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally.”
Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan, said: “In 2001, Nato invoked Article 5 for the first - and only - time in history. It meant that every allied nation was obliged to stand with the United States in Afghanistan, in pursuit of our shared security. Allies answered that call.
“I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there. The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed.
“Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.
“Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace.”
The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to oust the Taliban for harbouring Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 terror attacks.