Donald Trump detonated a series of bombshells on his Truth Social overnight.
There was the leaking of private messages from France’s President Emmanuel Macron, the posting of images of Canada and Greenland as part of the US, and then going all out on Sir Keir Starmer and the UK by calling the Chagos deal an “act of great stupidity” – opening him up to attacks from opposition MPs long-opposed to the deal.
I’ve been speaking around government to get a sense of what the hell is going on after the prime minister sought to reiterate the UK’s position on Greenland on Monday while also trying to de-escalate, stressing the strong relationship, dodging the matter of retaliatory tariffs (although not ruling it out) and avoiding any incendiary language adopted by other leaders clearly fed up with Trump.
Politics latest: China’s controversial ‘super’ embassy in London approved
What’s clear is a sense that Trump is trying to pressure the UK by going hostile on Chagos – he clearly links the deal to Greenland in the post.
But what is also clear is that the UK government is not going to change its position on Greenland, nor is it going to wobble on Chagos, and will press on with the agreement with Mauritius.
Read more: What is in the Chagos Islands deal and why is it controversial?
The lashing out against the UK and Starmer seems to be part of a bigger assault on allies – as Trump reveals private messages with Macron and shares a map of Canada as US territory, which will no doubt explode in Canada.
This is what Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “What we saw last night… was a series of posts criticising a number of world leaders. That may tell us that the president is frustrated right now.
“I don’t really believe this is about Chagos. I think it’s about Greenland and the best way to resolve that is through dialogue with the Danish government and that’s what we’ve said all along.”
Trump is clearly frustrated that European allies are standing firm on Greenland and facing down his threats, regardless of the consequences of the tariffs.
Meanwhile, his Board of Peace plan has also fallen flat as he demands $1bn (£744m) for membership of a club that seems intended to undermine the United Nations.
France intends to reject Trump’s invitation over concerns that it would call into question “the principles and structure of the United Nations”, according to reports from the AFP news agency, while the UK government has “severe reservations” about the project’s legal framework, according to The Times.
On Monday, Danish foreign minister and former Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen told me how surprised he’d been by Trump’s public threats on social media over the weekend.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
He said he thought Denmark had come to an agreement with vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio that the profound disagreement on Greenland would be negotiated away from social media.
“The meeting we had last week left me with the clear impression that the president, honestly and full-heartedly, wanted to acquire Greenland.
“But we also made it crystal clear that this is a red line… we agreed that we should move this dialogue from social media and Truth Social and other arenas into a meeting room where we could discuss, whether there could be a solution building on what we already have agreed in the past.
“I thought, we have managed not to solve the problem, but to find a pathway forward.
“It was disrupted by the statement from the president. And that’s a reality of life,” he told me.
Read more: Beth Rigby: NATO faces crisis – I’ve never seen PM look so grave
It’s a reality all leaders are dealing with, as Trump’s increasingly erratic behaviour with allies makes the US almost impossible to deal with, though the UK’s position is that it must continue to try.
Last night I was told it was “highly unlikely” Starmer would attend Davos, given that there is no sign of any resolution or big set piece, multilateral meeting in resolution of the biggest matters for the UK and EU – Greenland and Ukraine.
👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈
But I’m told there will be engagement with the US on Tuesday and a conversation in Davos between UK and US players.
Trump turning on Starmer after all the prime minister’s efforts to build a good relationship is undoubtedly a blow, and raises questions about how else Starmer might have dealt with Trump.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
For the UK’s part, it managed to negotiate better trade terms during that purple patch. But now, this relationship is clearly under huge strain.
I imagine Starmer will ignore it and carry on – his problem is that his opponents will not.
