Donald Trump’s Vice President JD Vance has said that the UK is an “Islamist country” that will “get a nuclear weapon” because Labour won the general election.
This month Vance said he sees the UK as the “first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon.”
Trump said that if he is voted in to the White House Vance will be his running mate which could cause problems for Sir Keir Starmer’s newly appointed government.
On Tuesday Sky News presenter Kay Burley asked James Murray the exchequer secretary of his thoughts on Vance’s comments.
Burley asked, “He said the UK is the first Islamist country with nuclear weapons. How do you respond to that?”
“I don’t know what he means by that, to be honest. I don’t really understand those comments,” Murray said.
“It’s a little bit alarming, isn’t it?” Burley continued.
He replied, “It’s for America to decide who they elect in their election.
“From my point of view, whoever they elect in the White House, whoever they elect in the US, we have a very strong relationship between the UK and the US, which is really important to our security, to our economic growth.”
Burley interjected, “And [who] thinks that the UK is an Islamist country with nukes?”
“As I say, I don’t know what he meant, and as I say, we disagree on those particular comments that he’s made,” Murray said.
Murray added, “It’s in Britain’s interest to make sure we are working together on those shared goals.”
Burley read out Vance’s comments for a second time, “This could be the second most important man in the free world. Are you left flummoxed by that?”
“I don’t know what he was driving at with that comment, to be honest,” Murray said.
“In Britain, we’re very proud of our diversity, and I’m very proud we have a new government, I’ve very proud our Labour government is committed to national security and economic growth, I’m very clear where we are, I don’t know where that comment fits in.”
The Sky News presenter said that Vance said he wants to “beat up on the UK”, Burley asked, “I thought we had a special bond?”
“We do,” he said, and insisted this bond does exists “irrespective” of who is in government in the UK.