The conversation between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump was expected to be formal, but it took an unexpected turn when Trump started discussing his views on windmills.
According to those in the room, Trump began by saying that Britain has too many windmills, a sentiment he has expressed publicly before. However, he then took his comments to a new level by claiming that the windmills were killing birds, which in turn were being eaten by foxes that had become lazy and fat from eating the dead birds.
Those present were reportedly struggling to hold back their laughter as Trump continued to make his point, with one official describing the scene as "extremely funny." The conversation took place during the first call between the Prime Minister and the President, and the officials were trying to maintain a professional demeanor.
Trump's comments on windmills are not new, but this conversation highlights his long-standing opposition to the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. He has previously made similar comments, including a post on his social media site in December where he claimed that wind turbines were killing birds.
The UK's Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, was reportedly professional throughout the conversation, despite the humorous tone taken by Trump. Starmer's advisor, Morgan McSweeney, said that the Prime Minister was "always prepared" to stand up to Trump when the time was right, but he was not willing to be "performative about his politics."
McSweeney also spoke about the impact of a previous interview where Starmer appeared to say that Israel had the right to withhold water from Gaza. He said that the team would have been faster to correct the record on what he said, but that Starmer was not being an apologist at any point.
