The Special Relationship has seen more special days. Earlier this year, President Trump delivered his verdict: “How is the relationship? It’s the relationship where, when we asked them for help, they were not there. When we needed them, they were not there. When we didn’t need them, they were not there. And they still aren’t there.”
Trump was referring to divisions between the US and UK over the wisdom and conduct of the war in Iran. (Even amid a spat, though, he can dish out praise. Just this week, following the arrest of five men outside RAF Fairford, used by American bombers to strike Iran, the President said the UK authorities had done an “amazing job.”) But his remarks landed at a moment of divergence in the US-UK relationship that extends well beyond Iran. Washington has imposed and reimposed tariffs on Britain. Last year the UK paused intelligence-sharing that could have assisted American strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, which London views as illegal. Trump has branded the deal to hand the Chagos islands to Mauritius an “act of great stupidity.”
