U.S. President Donald Trump heaped praise Saturday (January 25, 2026) on British soldiers who fought in Afghanistan, in a post on social media that represented a partial reversal of comments he made this week that drew a cascade of criticism in the U.K., particularly from families of those killed and seriously injured in the conflict.
In the wake of a conversation earlier with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that the “great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America.” He described the 457 British servicemen and women who died in Afghanistan and those that were badly injured, as “among the greatest of all warriors.”
Mr. Trump added that the bond between the two countries' militaries is “too strong to ever be broken” and that the U.K. “with tremendous heart and soul, is second to none (except for the USA)."
U.K. PM slams Trump remarks on non-U.S. NATO troops in Afghanistan as ‘insulting’ and ‘appalling’
Mr. Trump's comments follow an interview with Fox Business Network on Thursday (January 22, 2026) in Davos, Switzerland, when he said he wasn't sure the other 31 nations in NATO would be there to support the United States if and when requested and that troops from those countries stayed "a little off the front lines.”
