President Donald Trump walked into the Oval Office locked into the performance, playing to the room as cameras rolled and laughter carried the moment. For a stretch, it looked like he had it exactly where he wanted it.
Then the mood shifted and he didn’t catch it right away. By the time it registered, the moment had already turned against him.
Trump welcomed Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin to the White House for an Oval Office meeting, where he was confronted with unexpected pushback for his disparaging remarks about another international official.
During the March 17 meeting Trump aired grievances about allies pulling back support amid the escalating conflict with Iran, turning what was expected to be a routine exchange into a pointed airing of tensions.
Much of Trump’s anger has been directed squarely at NATO and key European partners, particularly United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as he pressures allies to commit resources to securing the Strait of Hormuz. The tension has grown to the point that Trump has been pressed on whether his relationship with Starmer has been damaged by the U.K.’s refusal to back his call.
“You don’t want to do it, and you’re our oldest ally,” Trump complained a day earlier while addressing Starmer’s decision to keep the U.K. out of the war.
“Well, he hasn’t been supportive, and I think it’s a big mistake. You know, they make a lot of money on trade with the United States. I went out of my way [to make a trade deal],” he added.
The Oval Office rant unfolded in front of his wall of presidential portraits and sculptures of world leaders.
While pointing to a bust of “The late great Winston Churchill,” he scoffed, “Unfortunately, Keir is not Winston Churchill,” causing the room to erupt with questions from journalists.
Martin interjected as Trump chastised the media for chomping at the bit to follow up on his comments about Starmer. “Hold it, hold it,” he said firmly, pointing at the press. But he didn’t anticipate that his rebuke of the media would set the stage for his own takedown.
“First of all, I think the transatlantic relationship between Europe and the U.S. is very important on a number of fronts,” Martin began. “And I think we’ve had issues over the last year … remember all the fuss last year,” he added.
Appeasing Trump’s ego, he continued, “Churchill was a great wartime leader,” prompting a few chuckles.
He then challenged Trump’s ire, saying, “Keir Starmer has done a lot to reset the Irish-British relationship. I just want to put that on the record. But I do believe that’s he’s a very earnest, sound person who you have the capacity to get on with — you’ve gotten on with him before … and other European leaders.”
Trump maintained a straight face, nodded his head, and tapped his fingers together, but did not attempt a rebuttal to the remarks.
Viewers immediately took notice. “Well done irelands PM First leader to stand up to trump and correct him in public . And you could see trump didnt like it lol,” read praise for Martin.
Another added, “This was disgraceful just when you thought this prick couldn’t sink so low. A total disrespect for the Irish prime Minister today I felt bad for the man who in the circumstances handled himself well. It’s obvious that Trump is jealous of EU and it’s history and culture resilience.”
Others expressed frustration with Trump’s Churchill lecture, which also took aim at former President Barack Obama, a frequent target.
“Barack Hussein Obama didn’t want the bust in this office,” he said, claiming that Obama “sent it back to England… And when I came in, I was asked if I wanted it. I said, ‘Absolutely, I want it,’ and I put it right here,” Trump falsely claimed.
As usual, what Trump said about President Obama was a lie.
Obama did not send the Winston Churchill bust back to England, he moved it from the Oval Office to a residential area of the White House. He placed it outside of the Treaty Room where he saw it daily-because unlike…
— Lynnez 🌊♥️🇺🇸 Rib Gone Rogue (@RibGoneRogue) March 17, 2026
It was called a “pathetic backslide” and a revision of history. A critic snapped, “He’s lying about the bust, too. It was never sent back to England, Obama had it moved to next to his private office in the residence.”
White House archives addressed the mistruth in 2012, citing that Barack Obama never sent the bust to the British Embassy; it was simply relocated outside the residence’s Treaty Room.
As for Starmer, he reiterated his refusal to endanger British nationals in the Gulf region. In a released video, he explained, “The U.K. is not going to war with Iran. At the beginning of this conflict, I made it really clear that we wouldn’t join the offensive strikes that the U.S. and Israel were carrying out on Iran.”
On Thursday, leaders from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan expressed readiness to contribute to efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz and ensure safe passage for global trade.
Starmer was openly critical of Trump’s leadership during his first presidential term in 2017-2021. The two leaders’ last meeting took place in September 2025.
