UK Prime Minister Starmer said on the 23rd that U.S. President Trump's remarks regarding NATO allies' troops not being on the front lines during the Afghanistan war are "insulting and shocking," and that Trump should apologize for them.
Recently, in an interview with the American Fox News Channel in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that the United States "never needed" NATO, and that NATO allies "will say they sent troops to Afghanistan... they did send troops, but they were a little further back, a bit removed from the front lines."
Starmer told the media that Trump's comments deeply hurt the families of British military casualties, "If I had said something like that, I would certainly apologize."
Earlier that day, the British Prime Minister's Office issued a statement saying that British troops have continuously fought alongside American troops, and that Trump had "wrongfully" diminished the role of NATO forces, including the British military, in the Afghanistan war.