Published on 6/23/2026
US President Donald Trump criticized resigned British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, considering that his policies in the areas of energy and immigration caused him great political harm and contributed to weakening his position within the Labor Party.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that he considered Starmer a “nice guy,” but accused him of mismanaging the energy file by not exploiting oil and gas resources in the North Sea, and focusing on wind energy projects.
He added that the United Kingdom imports a large portion of its energy needs from Norway, despite its possession of a larger share of the North Sea’s resources, considering that London’s reluctance to exploit those resources is due to environmental considerations.
The Iran war strained the relationship
The US President also indicated that Starmer was not sufficiently cooperative with the United States on issues related to NATO and the war on Iran, pointing to a previous dispute between the two sides regarding the use of the British Akrotiri base in Cyprus during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Trump said that the British Prime Minister initially expressed reservations about using the rule before he later backed down, adding that this position “hurt him greatly.” He continued: “He had two problems: energy and immigration, and with regard to these two issues, he caused himself great harm.”
At the same time, Trump expressed his wishes for Starmer’s success, saying that he was “kind of a friend of his,” hours after the latter announced his intention to resign from the leadership of the Labor Party.
Yesterday, Monday, Starmer announced that he was stepping down from the leadership of the party after months of internal pressure and a decline in his popularity following the disappointing results achieved by the party in the recent local and regional elections.
It is expected that veteran Labor politician Andy Burnham, former mayor of Greater Manchester, will succeed him, in a move that could leave Britain with its seventh prime minister in a decade.
Last Sunday, the US President expected that Starmer would step down from his position under intense pressure.
Trump wrote – on his “Truth Social” platform – that “Starmer will resign from the position of Prime Minister,” adding that he “failed miserably on two very important issues: immigration and energy.”
