Trump Raises Doubts About Support for UK on Falklands

President Trump raised doubts about whether the United States would support Britain in another conflict over the Falkland Islands in an interview with a British broadcaster aired Thursday, injecting new tension into the long-standing dispute over the British-controlled archipelago also claimed by Argentina. Trump's comments came as his ideological ally, Argentine President Javier Milei, prepared to deliver a televised national address about what his government has described as diplomatic progress over the islands that lie about 300 miles off Argentina's coast in the South Atlantic, the AP reports.

When asked in an interview with British television channel GB News whether the US would "come to the aid" of Britain in a new conflict over the territory, Trump avoided answering directly. "Well, look, I was there when they had the first war," Trump said of the 10-week conflict that erupted in April 1982, when Argentina's waning military dictatorship invaded the islands and then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent British naval forces across the Atlantic to retake them. The war killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service members, and three islanders.

• "That was a long time ago and I watched it so carefully, and you comported yourselves very well," Trump added. "You took it back pretty strongly." He then pivoted to complaints that Britain has not provided sufficient support for the US-led bombing campaign against Iran.
• It wasn't the first time the Trump administration had drawn a connection between Britain's claim to the remote islands and its refusal to participate in the US war on Iran: An internal Pentagon email reported in April raised the prospect of Washington reconsidering its position on the archipelago as one possible way to punish NATO allies that declined to join the Iran war.
• Trump had already fueled speculation about a possible shift in US policy on Monday when asked whether his administration was reviewing its stance on the islands. "I always review every position," Trump replied. "That's just one of many."

• Milei, a free-market libertarian and Thatcher fan who has struggled to prove his nationalist credentials and previously been criticized for a lack of support for the cause, welcomed Trump's comment, declaring that "something major happened regarding the most sacred cause we Argentines have."
• In his address, Milei claimed "winds of change" favoring Argentina's claim to the islands were "blowing around the world," the Guardian reports. The UK, he said, is facing "multiple crises of a migratory, demographic, and economic nature that are unlikely to be resolved. It is clear that they are on a path of decline. Argentina's future, however, is flourishing and will prevail."
• Asked earlier this week about Milei's planned address, Prime Minister Andy Burnham's spokesman, Tom Wells, said the British government's position was "long-standing and unwavering." He pointed to a 2013 referendum in which the 99.8% of the roughly 4,000 people living in the Falkland Islands voted in favor of remaining a British overseas territory.
• "Sovereignty rests with the UK, and the islanders' right to self-determination is paramount," Wells said. "The UK's position is clear. The islanders have repeatedly expressed their wish to remain a British overseas territory."