Washington, D.C. — March 18, 2026 President Donald Trump sharply criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday, comparing him unfavorably to Winston Churchill while pressing for stronger U.K. action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The remarks came during Trump’s traditional St. Patrick’s Day meeting at the White House with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin. What began as a bilateral discussion on U.S.-Irish ties quickly turned into a pointed transatlantic rebuke, as Trump expressed frustration over the U.K.’s limited involvement in the escalating Iran crisis.