Trump doubles down on UK troops attack

Recently, GB News host Ben Leo sided with Donald Trump when he threatened a trade war with the UK. As anyone with half a brain could have predicted, it wasn’t a good idea for Great Britain News to side with a hostile foreign power that was threatening Great Britain. Now, less than a week later, the chickens have come home to roost:

GBN: Calm down lefties! He obviously wasn't disparaging our contribution he meant all those terrible EU countries!

White House: Nah we hate all of you.

GBN: Oh… https://t.co/XoHYSCGV8i

— Tharries (@TharriesYT) January 23, 2026

Humiliation ritual

Trump suggested that troops from other NATO countries avoided fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan. As people have noted, though, many UK troops did indeed fight and die for the American empire and its self-serving wars:

Some of the 457 UK troops who didn't stay ' a little bit back' in Afghanistan. Trump is a disgrace to the Office of President. A senile draft dodger and convicted sex offender who needs to read some history books. pic.twitter.com/uoBAkGGzxf

— Neil Blanchard (@Spartanblue67) January 22, 2026

This is how Starmer responded to Trump:

I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice that they made for their country. There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries.

And so I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling, and I’m not surprised they caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.

He also stated that if he was in Trump’s shoes and had “misspoken in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologise”.

And now we get to GB News.

Trump — the double down

As you’ll see, Leo did everything he could to get something from Trump which would allow GB News to save face for their repeated bootlicking. Instead, the White House doubled down (emphasis added):

I went to the White House specifically with Keir Starmer’s statement. I said, look, is there some confusion here? Was President Trump not including the UK when he was talking about NATO troops not being near the front line?

This is their response…

‘President Trump is right. America’s contributions to NATO dwarf that of other countries, and his success in delivering a 5% spending pledge from NATO allies is helping Europe take greater responsibility for its own defence. The United States is the only NATO partner who can protect Greenland. And the president is advancing NATO interests in doing so.’

Much like the British troops Trump derided, Leo looked shell shocked. He was so shocked that he literally read the statement out twice, before saying:

A pretty sturdy response from the White House there, doubling down, saying that there is no confusion. President Trump meant what he said.

And yeah, when you talk about America first, it really is America first.

Oh really?

You’d think ‘America First’ meant ‘America and GB News First’, but apparently not.

Further adding to his embarrassment, Leo admitted that he initially went out to defend Trump against the backlash from UK veterans, widows, the British public, etc:

President Trump, his comments could have been – as I argued a few minutes ago – misconstrued last night. The defence – the conjecture – was maybe he wasn’t including the UK in his NATO comments. But no, the White House says he was right and he meant what he said.

Oh, and for reference, this was how gleeful Leo looked when talking about Trump threatening tariffs against the UK:

Of course.

GB News.

The pathetic loser, Ben Leo outing himself as the traitor he really is.

This far-right propaganda machine doing down its own country is pretty standard nowadays. https://t.co/us9wCwvcou

— Don McGowan (@donmcgowan) January 17, 2026

Embarrassing.

American empire

It’s certainly true that Trump’s comments are disrespectful to the people who fought in Afghanistan. At the same time, it’s an honest reflection of how people in power think about soldiers. If they actually respected servicemen and women, they wouldn’t send them to fight bullshit wars; they also wouldn’t allow them to languish in poverty and homelessness when they returned from war.

Featured image GB News