Rock legend Rod Stewart, who once considered himself a friend of President Donald Trump, has slammed him, calling him a “draft-drifter“ in a video message on Instagram, the website Variety reports, bTV reported.
The reason for his reaction was Trump's comments about the courage of NATO soldiers, in which the president implied that European allies had stayed away from the front lines in Afghanistan, leaving the “real courage” to American soldiers.
“We lost over 400 of our boys. Think of their parents! And Trump calls them almost cowards. It's unbearable”, Stewart said, expressing his deep respect for the armed forces forces.
He called on British leaders to apologize to Donald Trump for insulting the fallen soldiers. At the end of the clip, Stewart gave a military salute, while the screen displayed captions such as “We will never forget“, “Respect them“ and “Shameful“.
Trump's remarks were made during an interview in Davos, in which he said: “We never needed them (NATO). They sent some troops to Afghanistan, but they stood a little on the sidelines, a little off the front line.“
457 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan, second only to American deaths. The reaction in Britain was strong and spanned all political camps. Prime Minister Starmer said Trump's remarks were “offensive and shocking“ and highlighted the courage and sacrifice of British soldiers soldiers.
Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan, noted that the sacrifices of British soldiers deserve to be remembered with respect, emphasizing the role of allies in protecting common security, writes BGNES.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Bednock called Trump's attacks “complete nonsense“, and Nigel Farage admitted that Trump was wrong in his assessment. Rod Stewart has previously criticized Trump for his lack of support for allies, saying in June 2024 that the president “has moved away from Europe, and America was our strongest ally“. He is not known as a political leftist – last year he supported Nigel Farage as a possible leader in the United Kingdom and admitted that he knew his family and liked him personally.
As for his relationship with Trump, Stewart said that before the presidency he has visited his Florida home and attended his Christmas parties, but since Trump became president, he "changed and became someone I didn't know." In addition to his reaction to Trump, Stewart has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions against Palestine in Gaza, calling them "annihilation," and has expressed support for Ukraine, waving the Ukrainian flag during performances of the song Rhythm of My Heart.