Has Trump and Starmer’s 'special relationship' turned toxic?
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is Donald Trump's threat to impose more tariffs on countries trying to block his plan to buy Greenland the last straw for the strained relationship with the UK?
Sir Keir Starmer is walking a diplomatic tightrope - on the one hand rebuking the president for his threats, while on the other reiterating the UK and US remain the closest of allies.
But could this mark a point of no return for the man once described as the 'Trump whisperer'?
Niall speaks to the UK's first national security adviser, Lord Ricketts, about the history of the alliance between the UK and the US and whether Sir Keir can successfully keep it intact, at this delicate moment in history.
Producer: Tom Gillespie
Editor: Mike Bovill
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:08.5 | Coming up, Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on Britain |
| 0:12.1 | for saying he probably shouldn't invade Greenland. |
| 0:15.5 | So has the special relationship become a toxic one? |
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| 1:22.1 | Donald Trump is threatening tariffs in the UK and other allies |
| 1:25.2 | who've opposed his plans to annex Greenland, effectively |
| 1:28.4 | saying fall into line or pay up. Number 10, announced an emergency address from Sir Keir Starrmer |
| 1:33.9 | in response, but anyone hoping for a Hugh Grant in Love Actually moment from the Prime Minister |
| 1:38.8 | would have been a wee bit disappointed. The use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong. It is not the right |
| 1:48.9 | way to resolve differences within an alliance. Not quite the nuclear response some had been |
... |
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