In a little matter of two weeks Donald Trump has ripped up so much of the defence and security architecture of the last 76 years, which has kept us safe. The betrayal of Ukraine is breathtaking, shocking, and wrong.
Ukraine-the brave, independent nation defending itself against the of killing by the Russian gangster state. Ukraine-our friend and partner.
He suspended military aid to Ukraine, suspending intelligence sharing with them which is now leading to the killing of Ukranians. He has stated publicly that Ukraine may not survive.
All the while Trump has been trumpeting Russian propaganda lines, even saying “Putin is doing what anyone else would do with recent attacks on Ukraine”.
President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr ZelenskiyReutersAnd Trump’s Vice President Vance even went as far as dishonestly ridiculing our troops for not having fought a war for 30 or 40 years. Our troops who fought so bravely alongside the US in Afghanistan and Iraq.
My last job in Government was Minister of State for the Armed Forces. A key responsibility of mine was liaising with the bereaved families of our service personnel. I know they fought a war bravely and heroically.
To hear our brave servicemen and women blithely and falsely disparaged in this way made my blood run cold. Trump has attacked the sovereignty of NATO allies such as Canada and Greenland.
It is all bewildering and utterly wrongheaded. And totally on the wrong side of history. No US President in my lifetime has ever done anything like this. Ever. Not even close.
The result is sadly clear. Most British people no longer regard the US as an ally.
JD Vance's comments have been slapped down as 'deeply disrespectful'PA/FOX NEWSTo put this in historical context, it was Reagan and Thatcher-lions of the international right in politics-who led the way with conviction in standing up to the then Soviet Union, clearly posing it as an existential threat to our safety and security.
Who can doubt that were she alive today Margaret Thatcher would be rigorously supporting Ukraine and standing up to Russia.
That has been rejected by the populist right led by Trump and echoed by sycophants like Nigel Farage in the UK.
But Russia still poses an existential threat. It has invaded the continent of Europe to recreate the historical, greater Russia. It has destroyed gas pipelines endangering our energy supplies. It has ambitions for further aggressive, expansionism into Europe. It has assassinated citizens in our country.
As a Foreign Minister I negotiated with Russia-it was the most corrupt, aggressively bullying, amoral state I negotiated with anywhere in the world.
In stark contrast to Trump our Prime Minister and Government have led the way in taking steps to secure our peace and security from Russia.
Rightly committing to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027 (the level it was under the last Labour Government) and committing to move us to 3%. Putting defence of the realm first.
LATEST MEMBERSHIP OPINION:
''Former head of the British Army calls for MORE defence spendingGBNKier Starmer-faced with the need to build a relationship with Trump because he still is the leader of the free world-played a blinder in Washington, cementing a good working relationship with Trump.
And Kier has led Europe in assembling a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine and protect any peace deal. The one nugget of truth in all Trump’s pronouncements on Ukraine is that Europe doesn’t spend enough on its own security. Kier is leading the way in putting that right.
Being on the right side of history refers to ‘the belief that certain actions, ideas or movements are aligned with progress, justice or morality, and will be viewed favourably by future generations.’
Kier Starmer is emphatically on the right side of history in terms of defence and security and the fight against Russia. President Donald Trump is most certainly on the wrong side.
