It’s now crystal clear what President Trump thinks of Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain.
Over the weekend, Mr. Trump shared on social media a brutal skit from Britain’s new version of the “Saturday Night Live” show, portraying the prime minister as overly eager to please the president and terrified of him. “Golly,” the actor portraying Mr. Starmer says, “what if Donald shouts at me?”
Mr. Trump’s decision to distribute the skit to millions of his followers is the latest presidential disparagement of his British counterpart. In recent weeks, the president has mercilessly mocked Mr. Starmer as cowardly and spineless because of his unwillingness to fully join the fight against Iran. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that Mr. Starmer is “No Winston Churchill” and chided him for not clearing the way for U.S. jets to use British bases for the initial strikes.
“We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” the president wrote on March 7.
For Mr. Starmer, who has spent more than a year trying to be Europe’s Trump whisperer, the very public crumbling of their relationship comes at an already difficult time. Ukraine still needs American support to defend itself against Russia, a key priority for the British government. Mr. Starmer is fighting the perception that he refuses to take firm stands on policy. And now, the conflict with Iran is further damaging the already wobbly British economy.
The prime minister continues to talk privately with the president — including a 20-minute call on Sunday evening not long after the president circulated the “S.N.L.” skit online — but it’s unclear how much sway he has. What started early in 2025 with Mr. Trump praising Mr. Starmer for doing “a very good job,” has now reached the stage where the prime minister is repeatedly insisting that the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States still exists. (In the S.N.L. U.K.” skit, it is referred to as the “special situationship.”)
A spokesman for Mr. Starmer declined on Monday to say whether the prime minister had seen the “S.N.L.” skit or had discussed it with Mr. Trump. The spokesman said only that the prime minister is focused on responding to the president’s demands in a way that is in the British national interest without letting his country be dragged into the war.
Claire Ainsley, the director of the Center-Left Renewal Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, said Mr. Starmer is facing the same challenges with Mr. Trump that his counterparts have.
“All leaders had to grapple with how to deal with Trump,” said Ms. Ainsley, who served as Mr. Starmer’s political director from 2020 to 2022, before the Labour Party won the 2024 general election. “The U.K. dealt with the situation pretty well, establishing a personal relationship with the president that has allowed them to have a more candid dialogue even when they disagree.”
Mr. Starmer’s disagreement with Mr. Trump about Iran has driven a wedge between them for weeks. He initially denied Mr. Trump permission to attack Iran from two British bases, but later agreed to allow what he calls defensive missions aimed at protecting residents of the region, including British citizens. Mr. Starmer has since said the U.S. military can also conduct attacks against Iranian sites that are launching attacks on the Strait of Hormuz.
British politicians and the public remain scarred by the country’s experience supporting the United States in its war with Iraq in 2003, a decision which an official government inquiry later determined had been based on faulty intelligence. That has made Mr. Starmer especially wary of getting dragged into another war of America’s choosing.
The prime minister, a former lawyer, has also questioned the legal basis for the U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran.
On Friday, Iran launched two missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-British military base in the Indian Ocean, 2,500 miles away, John Healey, the British defense secretary confirmed on Monday. Neither of the missiles made it to the targets — one failed mid-flight and the other was shot down by an American warship. But the range of the Iranian missiles was a cause for surprise in Britain and the United States.
Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Monday, Mr. Starmer responded to a lawmaker’s comment about Mr. Trump being “quite rude” by insisting that he remains focused on what is in the best interests of Britain.
“Notwithstanding the pressure that comes from elsewhere, I will remain laser-focused on what is in the British national interest,” he said. “A lot of what is said or done is undoubtedly said or done to put pressure on me. I have no doubt about that. I understand exactly what is going on.”
Those kinds of comments have clearly annoyed Mr. Trump, who has tried to goad the prime minister into becoming more involved. But it was Mr. Starmer’s initial refusal that appears to have riled Mr. Trump.
The resulting iciness couldn’t be more different than what Mr. Starmer encountered at the beginning of their relationship.
The prime minister’s aides at No. 10 Downing Street decided early on that he should try to avoid antagonizing the new president. When they met in person, Mr. Starmer found ways to cater to Mr. Trump’s ego, including by hand-delivering an invitation from King Charles for a rare, second state visit to Windsor Castle. Mr. Trump seemed to respond well to Mr. Starmer’s efforts, saying he considered them “friends.”
The idea was that Britain would get more with carrots than with sticks. By May, Mr. Starmer crowed about having negotiated the first trade deal with the president. At a time when other leaders, like Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, were taking flack from Mr. Trump, Mr. Starmer’s approach seemed to be succeeding.
During discussions about the fate of Ukraine and Mr. Trump’s threats against Greenland, it was Mr. Starmer who often conveyed the views of his European counterparts to the president.
That all changed this year.
Apparently angry about the prime minister’s refusal to let him use British bases for strikes on Iran, Mr. Trump lashed out about an arrangement for the British government to relinquish control over the Chagos Islands — where Diego Garcia, the joint U.S.-British base, is located — to Mauritius, and to lease back the base for an initial period of 99 years. It was a deal to which Mr. Trump had already given his blessing. But he made clear on social media that he was not happy after all.
“Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. He added that the decision was an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY.”
That began the downward slide between the two men, though Mr. Starmer has tried to put the best spin possible on it. At a recent news conference, he said the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States is about the two governments working together — not a friendship between two leaders.
“We’re working with the Americans at the deployment from our bases,” he said. “That is the special relationship. That is the special relationship in operation.”
Michael D. Shear is the chief U.K. correspondent for The New York Times, covering British politics and culture and diplomacy around the world.
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