Trump criticises Starmer again after his resignation: attacks energy ban, refusal to let US use UK bases for Iran strikes

Evian-les-Bains, France — U.S. President Donald Trump has described outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a "lovely man" who "really hurt himself" following Starmer's decision to resign.

Trump, who had bizarrely posted on social media that Starmer was going to quit a day before he actually did, used the opportunity to attack Labour policies when asked about the PM by reporters.

Trump's Remarks on Energy Policy

"I think he's a lovely man, but you're really messing up energy, you've got windmills all over the place and in the meantime you have the North Sea oil and they won't let anybody drill! It's one of the great fields in the world," Trump said.

He continued: "The UK buys much of its energy – you know where? Norway. You know where they get their oil? The North Sea. The UK has a much better portion of the sea. They don't want to do it for environmental purposes."

Fact Check: UK North Sea Drilling

The UK does allow drilling in the North Sea for oil, but only under existing licences. It has permanently banned any new explorations. The fossil fuels extracted are sold to the highest bidder on the international stage. The oil cannot be used domestically for UK energy because domestic refineries are not able to refine it, meaning expanding North Sea drilling would not directly ease the country's energy problem.

Trump has regularly criticised Labour's refusal to "drill, baby, drill."

Trump on NATO and the Iran Dispute

The president continued: "I told him [Starmer] – he's sort of a friend of mine – I mean, he was not good to us with NATO, he said we can't use the island to land, that was a first, for a couple of weeks.

"He said, but I gave it to you – that was a bad move, that hurt him badly. But I'm going to wish well. But he's got two problems, energy and immigration. And crime. He's really hurt himself very badly."

Starmer fell out with Trump after he refused to let the US use UK military bases to launch offensive strikes on Iran. He did grant permission for limited, defensive strikes on the Middle East, but the president was deeply offended and lambasted the PM in public for weeks.

No other NATO ally offered to help Trump with his war against Iran, either. However, Trump regularly chose Starmer as his main punching bag, saying he is no "Winston Churchill" and comparing him to Neville Chamberlain, the PM who associated with Nazi appeasement.

Photo: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump pose for a group photo at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday June 16, 2026. (Isabel Infantes/Pool Photo via AP)