Trump slams U.K. 'stupidity' as Speaker Johnson vows to calm tensions in historic Parliament address [View all]
Source: NBC News
Jan. 20, 2026, 4:43 AM EST / Updated Jan. 20, 2026, 6:27 AM EST
LONDON — In a historic speech in the heart of British democracy, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that he had come to "calm the waters" between the United States and Europe. Yet even as he spoke his hosts were reeling from President Donald Trump's latest diplomatic torpedo, deriding Britain's "stupidity" and renewing his threats to seize territory from his own NATO allies.
Marking 250 years of American independence, Rep. Johnson, R-LA, became the first sitting speaker to address the British Houses of Parliament, something he called a "profound honor" akin to returning "to the spiritual birthplace of our own nation." His visit has however been overshadowed by Trump's aggressive campaign to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, which shocked and alarmed Europe.
The president doubled down on his hostilities late Monday, criticizing Britain's decision to relinquish control of the Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago home to an Anglo-American military base. Johnson's speech to British lawmakers did not reference any of this by name, instead adopting a warm tone and words to laud the longstanding ideological basis for their "special relationship."
He told them, "We have always been able to work through our differences calmly as friends. We will continue to do that. I want to assure you this morning that that is still the case." He said that when planning the trip last fall, "we didn't know how the events would develop over the last few days," but that he had told Trump on Monday "that my mission here today was to encourage our friends and help to calm the waters, so to speak, and I hope to do so."
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/speaker-johnson-addresses-uk-parliament-trump-starmer-chagos-greenland-rcna254905
There is nothing to "calm" when a raving, foaming-at-the-mouth lunatic that Johnson coddles and supports, is ranting about his imperialistic fantasies.
I.e., this is not going to work -
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