President Donald Trump derailed Mike Johnson’s historic speech in front of the U.K. Parliament with a fresh series of taunts against the longtime ally even as his speaker pledged to ease tensions.
Johnson became the first-ever sitting House Speaker to address Britain’s Parliament in London on Tuesday morning, as part of a long-scheduled visit to commemorate 250 years since American independence from the U.K.
But even before Johnson took the stand in front of MPs in the House of Commons, his speech was overshadowed by Trump’s repeated threats to seize Greenland and his claim that the U.K.’s handover of Chagos Islands sovereignty to Mauritius was an act of “great stupidity.”
During a deranged Truth Social posting spree ahead of Johnson’s speech, Trump blasted the U.K. for giving away Diego Garcia, the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago and home to a U.S. military base, for “no reason whatsoever.” The 79-year-old also listed it as an example of why the U.S. must take over Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, for strategic military purposes.
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness,” Trump wrote. “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.”
Trump’s anger will likely come as a surprise to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who endorsed the Chagos Archipelago arrangement last May and ensured that the military facility at Diego Garcia would remain operational.
Trump has already risked ruining the longstanding “Special Relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K. and America’s standing in NATO over his unhinged threats to take over Greenland one way or another. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on eight European nations—the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland—until the U.S. completes its “complete and total purchase” of Greenland.
In a speech on Monday, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried to walk a tightrope by speaking out against Trump’s Greenland and tariff threats, while also trying not to upset the erratic 79-year-old president too much.
“Any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone. That right is fundamental, and we will support it,” Starmer said.
“Britain is a pragmatic country. We look for agreement. We believe in partnership. We prefer solutions to slogans,” he added. “But being pragmatic does not mean being passive. And partnership does not mean abandoning principle.”
Johnson made only passing mentions of Trump’s hopes to seize Greenland during his Tuesday speech in front of the U.K.’s Parliament.
“Clearly, President Trump is taking seriously the modern and dynamic threats that China and Russia posed to our global security, especially in the last few days as it relates to the Arctic,” Johnson said.
“And while we can have thoughtful debate among our friends about how best to counter these threats, we all certainly agree they must be countered,” he added. “We ignore these threats at our peril.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Johnson’s office for comment.
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