Gareth Roberts Gareth Roberts

Why Brits keep getting a tongue lashing from Team Trump

Rory Stewart has been on the receiving end of criticism from JD Vance (Getty images)

So much for the Special Relationship. Since Donald Trump took office in January, Brits have been taking quite a tongue-lashing from the US president’s team.

Keir Starmer, who touches down in Washington on Thursday to meet Trump, has been nicknamed “two-tier Keir” by the president’s consigliere Elon Musk over his handling of grooming gangs. JD Vance, the vice president, also seems to have it in for Brits: Vance has mocked Rory Stewart (not something we need help with but thanks anyway, Veep); ‘The problem with Rory and people like him,’ wrote Vance, ‘is that he has an IQ of 110 and thinks he has an IQ of 130’.

Vance spluttered with incredulity at Niall Ferguson

Vance spluttered with incredulity at Niall Ferguson, accusing the Scottish-born historian of espousing ‘moralistic garbage’. He has also taken a pop at Shashank Joshi, defence editor of the Economist: ‘Behind the tough guy language,’ he responded to Joshi on X, ‘there is no argument here.

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