Trump Wants to GET BACK At Britain

Argentina wants the Falkland Islands back from Britain. The UK says it'll never surrender its territory. But Trump may have other ideas. Welcome to America Uncovered, I'm Chris Chappell. So recently there's been a lot of talk about the Falkland Islands, and how it could be the next big flashpoint for conflict in the Americas. People are starting to ask, are we going to have the Falklands War 2 before GTA 6? Well, like everything on this show, it's complicated. Let's get into it. For some quick background, the Falklands, known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas, are located here, about 300 miles off the coast of Argentina. These islands are pretty isolated, and had no native population before European colonial powers started settling people there in 1764. Later, both Britain and Spain controlled settlements on the islands. But by the early 1800s, Spain's colonial empire started to fall apart, and they withdrew. The newly independent country that would later become Argentina tried to move into Spain's former holding, but were forcibly evicted by the British in 1833. In 1982, Argentina's military junta invaded the islands, but were once again kicked out. And the Falklands have remained British ever since. So case closed, right? Well, maybe not. You see, Argentina never gave up its claim to the islands. And last week, Argentina's president, Javier Mili, reminded the world of his country's position. The Falkland Islands are Argentine, by history and by law. Now, to be clear, I don't think Argentina is about to invade the Falklands again. The last time they tried, it really didn't go well for them. Despite outnumbering the British land forces 2 to 1, their military simply couldn't stop the Brits. The Argentine troops sent to take the islands were forced to surrender en masse and the war was over in a little over two months. Militarily speaking, Argentina today is even weaker than it was in the 80s. But that's not to say Britain is or was all-powerful, either. Despite being initially neutral in that war, the US ended up having to give the UK a lot of help. The US gave Britain the use of the base on Ascension Island and gave them fuel. They gave Britain satellite intel. And the US even supplied sidewinder missiles for British Harrier jets. America's Navy Secretary at the time, John Lehman, later said in an interview that Britain would have had to have withdrawn from the Falklands if the United States had cut off the aid. Which brings us to today. Reporters have been asking President Trump what he thinks of the ongoing dispute between the UK and Argentina. Now, normally, an American president would say, of course we support our allies, the Falklands are British now and forever, blah blah blah. But this is Donald Trump we're talking about. Here's what he said. Are you reviewing the US position on the Falkland Islands? I always review it. Every position. That's just one of many. Ok, so the Falklands, or Malvinas, are back on the table, apparently. Granted, Trump probably doesn't care one way or the other about who actually owns the islands. But he is aware that the US holds a fair bit of leverage over who does. If something were to kick off, the UK would still need America's help in defending a territory about 8,000 miles away from the British mainland. That's why Trump gave some not-so-subtle warnings during an interview with GB News. But it's a long way away. That's a big trip. It's a long way. So why is Trump doing this? I get that he's friends with Javier Mille, but would the US really switch sides and back Argentina? Maybe. Maybe not. The point is just to make British leaders sweat a little, in retaliation for what Trump sees as Britain not keeping up its end of the special relationship between the two countries. For example, in February, before the beginning of the 2026 Iran War, the US wanted to use the Royal Air Force base on Diego Garcia, an island in the Chagos archipelago. The UK said no, and only gave America permission to use the base after Iran began retaliatory attacks in the region. And even then, the US was only allowed to use it for defensive purposes. For Trump, this was just a complete betrayal. Don't forget, you get a big percentage of your oil from the Strait of Hormuz, and you weren't there to help me. Your country was not there to help me. But that wasn't the end of it. The UK's new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, is pushing ahead with the deal made by his predecessor Starmer to give Chagos over to Mauritius, a country that's spent the last decade cozying up to China. Now technically, the US and the UK aren't losing the base at Diego Garcia. At least not right away. Instead, Britain keeps control of the base on an initial 99-year lease. The problem is that in the meantime, it's going to be very, very close to a Chinese ally. It's coming to the point where the US is really having to stop and consider who its friends really are. And having allies is important since America can't be everywhere all at once. The US Navy is already stretched thin. It has commitments in Venezuela and the Caribbean, the Strait of Hormuz, and the South China Sea. Britain still brings real hard power. Nuclear submarines, carriers, intelligence sharing. But at the same time, it seems to be drifting away from Washington. Argentina is the opposite. Its army isn't much to speak of, and its economy is only beginning to recover after decades of mismanagement. But it does have a president eager to go all in with the Americans. Milley said in a televised speech that Argentina has shown that it can be a valuable ally in the decades to come. Basically, while Argentina lacks any real military capacity, it hopes to make up for that by helping the US wherever it can. And Milley just fast-tracked an Argentine naval base project in Ushuaia, the country's southernmost city and one of the closest ports on Earth to Antarctica. He noted that major powers will increasingly compete for strategic resources in the Antarctic, and that Antarctica will be one of the main focuses of interest and competition. And since the US has shown a lot of interest in the base, it seems Milley hopes that all this will gain Washington's sympathy when it comes to taking back the Falklands. Now like I said, Argentina can't beat the UK in a one-on-one fight. That's why Milley insists that reclaiming the islands should be pursued through diplomatic channels. What this means in practice is that while Argentina can't invade the islands, what it can do is make holding them really expensive and annoying for the UK. Think grey zone warfare. It's like what China does in the waters around Taiwan. They build artificial islands, harass fishing boats, fly jets near the island, threaten to withhold critical rare earth supplies to nearby countries. You get the idea. Well, Argentina can do something like that. Milley recently sanctioned a number of firms and individuals linked to UK oil drilling near the Falklands. He's bought F-16s off the Danish, building up Argentina's capabilities in the air. And in the past, Argentine ships have intruded on British waters, like the survey vessel that was caught snooping for oil near the Falklands. None of these things will set off a war by themselves, but they do increase the UK's operating costs. And if Trump wanted to make it difficult for Britain to use the base on Ascension Island, or refuse to sell the UK weapons at friend prices, well, then keeping the Falklands secure would be even more of a pain, and the UK's economy and military aren't in the best shape. At a certain point, they may just have to throw up their hands and say, fine, you can have it all. I mean, that's basically been the story of the British Empire since the end of World War 2, whether it was in India, or Africa, or Asia, or the Americas. Holding onto all those far-flung territories was just too expensive, too much of a hassle. Without help from countries like the US, the Imperial Project was doomed to unravel the way it did. Of course, Britain could always, you know, work with the Americans instead of constantly thumbing their nose at them. But that would mean getting along with Trump. And right now, Millie has that market cornered. And now I'm happy to announce the return of my other show, Deep Thoughts While Gaming, where I try to beat YouTube's algorithm by hiding controversial topics in gaming content. This time, it's a video essay on Lindsay Clancy, Undertale, and just what a monster really is. Just click here. Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. Thank you for watching America Uncovered.