By Emmanuel Bobby
President Donald Trump on Saturday sought to walk back earlier comments about NATO forces in Afghanistan, publicly commending British troops after remarks he made last week drew sharp criticism from U.S. allies across Europe.
In a Thursday interview, Trump claimed that troops from non-American NATO countries largely stayed off the “front lines” during the war in Afghanistan. The statement sparked swift backlash, particularly in the United Kingdom, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the remarks as “insulting and frankly, appalling.”
Speaking to Fox Business, Trump had also questioned the value of the transatlantic military alliance, asserting that the United States “never needed” NATO — a cornerstone of the post-World War II global security order.
“We have never really asked anything of them,” Trump said at the time. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that, and they did. They stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
On Saturday, Trump struck a notably different tone in a post on Truth Social, writing that the “great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America.” While he did not issue a direct apology for his earlier remarks, he praised British service members and other allied troops who fought and were wounded in the conflict.
Of the 3,621 coalition troops killed during the war in Afghanistan, roughly 1,160 were from U.S. allies. Britain alone lost 457 service members. Trump described those who died and those who suffered life-altering injuries as “among the greatest of all warriors.”
“The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!),” Trump wrote. “We love you all, and always will!”
Downing Street confirmed that Starmer raised the issue directly with Trump during a phone call on Saturday.
“The Prime Minister spoke of the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home,” a spokesperson said. “We must never forget their sacrifice.”
Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States led an international coalition into Afghanistan to dismantle al Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power. In response, NATO invoked Article 5 — its mutual defense clause — for the first and only time in its history.
Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army, was among veterans and European officials who forcefully rejected Trump’s original claims. In a statement released Friday, the Duke of Sussex said allied nations “answered” America’s call and stood together in pursuit of shared security.
“I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there,” Harry said. “Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.”
Britain’s veterans minister, Alistair Carns — who completed five tours in Afghanistan — also denounced Trump’s comments, calling them “utterly ridiculous.”
The controversy further strained relations between Washington and European allies already unsettled by Trump’s recent push to acquire Greenland and his broader rhetoric toward Europe. At the World Economic Forum last week, Trump accused European countries of “destroying themselves,” saying that parts of the continent were “not even recognizable” anymore.
The United States lost about 2,460 service members in Afghanistan, according to the Defense Department. Other NATO allies also paid a heavy price: more than 150 Canadians were killed, along with 90 French troops, while Denmark lost 44 soldiers — one of the alliance’s highest per-capita death rates.
While Trump’s latest remarks were welcomed by some allies as a partial course correction, the episode underscored the ongoing tensions between his administration and long-standing U.S. partners over NATO, military cooperation and shared historical sacrifice.
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