A year ago, the U.K. was negotiating a trade deal with Washington and President Donald Trump’s fondness for the country, his mother’s birthplace, suggested a positive outlook for the two countries’ unusually close diplomatic ties.
Britain was the first country to sign a trade pact with the U.S. in May 2025, enjoying remarkably good relations with the White House and its mercurial leader, despite his political differences with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of the left-wing Labour Party and a former human rights lawyer.
But a year later, things look different.
The president’s tariff policies, provocative threats against Greenland (a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark) and the war against Iran have tested old alliances.
Trump has criticized NATO allies for not supporting military operations against Iran and singled out the U.K. in particular, denigrating its military, domestic and foreign policies, and questioning its loyalty.
