Former UK Defence Secretary Says Donald Trump 'Backs Our Enemy Not Our Allies'

A former UK defence minister has accused Donald Trump of siding with Russia over Britain’s allies in an outspoken blast.

Ben Wallace also hit out at the decision to grant the US president an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, which begins on Tuesday.

His comments came after Trump demanded Nato members slap import tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese exports, which would only be lifted after the Ukraine war is over.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump also said it was “Biden and Zelesnkyy’s war”, even though it began with Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in February, 2022.

He said: “If NATO does as I say, the WAR will end quickly, and all of those lives will be saved! If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States.”

Shashank Joshi, defence editor of The Economist, posted on X: “Trump sets impossible demands for NATO as conditions for sanctions on Russia. NATO allies aren’t going to put 100% tariffs on China. This amounts to a statement that he does not intend to follow through on any of his threats.”

Wallace replied: “Trump never had any intention of making Putin do anything. It was obvious from day 1 but the [Foreign Office], as ever, were trying to deal with a world as they wish it would be rather than how it actually is. So now we have a state visit for a man who backs our enemy not our allies.”

Before his re-election as president last year, Trump claimed he could stop the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.

But despite his multiple attempts at ending the conflict, including rolling out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska, it is still going on.

Just last week, Poland announced that it had shot down Russian attack drones after they entered the country’s airspace.