Donald Trump has claimed that King Charles “probably would have helped us” in Iran in another attack on prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Nato.
As the King and Queen were in New York during their four-day state visit, the US president said the monarch was a “phenomenal representative for his country” and suggested he would have differed in his approach to the conflict from the prime minister.
He said: “The King loves his country, and he’s a great king, and he’s a great friend of mine. And I think if that it were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran.”
Asked by reporters whether the King’s speech that referred to the need for a strong Nato alliance had changed his mind, Mr Trump said he was very disappointed in Nato after the US “asked them to do some things about Ukraine and Iran”.
Praising the King as “fantastic”, he added: “He would have done– he would have followed the suggestions we made with respect to Ukraine, because, you know, we have some disagreements on Ukraine and not having to do with Nato so much as European countries.”
His remarks were another veiled dig at the prime minister, whom he has previously dismissed as “not Winston Churchill”.
The president breached protocol on Tuesday by claiming to know the King’s views when he said Charles agreed Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.
Mr Trump said the King would see him before he left for home. “I think he’s a phenomenal representative for his country,” he said.
“I think the people in the United Kingdom should be proud.
“I loved his speech yesterday. I watched it. I loved the speech last night. I don’t know about my speech. I thought my speech was okay, too, but I thought he was I think he’s an unbelievable King, and, by the way, an unbelievable queen. They are a great couple.”
The US president has repeatedly condemned Nato for what he sees as relying too much on the US for funding and successfully pressured allies to increase their defence spending.
He has also attacked other allies, including the UK, for not supporting the US-Israeli war on Iran, and has more than once threatened to pull America out of the Nato defensive alliance.
Mr Trump last year demanded that all Nato nations stop buying Russian oil and energy immediately. Although most halted or reduced the amounts they were buying, some countries, such as Hungary, remained a big customer for Moscow’s gas industry.
In his efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the president has repeatedly pressurised Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky into ceding land to Moscow. Under plans he drew up last year, Kyiv would also have had to give up on its ambition of joining Nato.
In contrast with his attacks on Nato, the EU and other allies, Mr Trump has been unwavering in his flattery of Britain’s royal family.
It’s the second time he has claimed the King would have acted differently from the prime minister over his Iran war, having said as much earlier this month when the royal visit was announced.
