New data shows that US approval of Britain has sunk to a record low as President Trump supporters shun British PM Sir Keir Starmer over free speech suppression and other political differences.
The share of Americans who have a positive view of the UK has plummeted to 76% this year from 84%, according to polling by Gallup.
The Telegraph reports: This is the lowest level since at least 1987 and the first time the share has ever fallen below 80%. Over the last four decades, the number has averaged 88%.
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The slump was almost entirely driven by Republicans. The share of Trump voters with a favourable view of Britain plunged by 18 percentage points to an unprecedented 64%.
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Among Democratic voters, by contrast, the proportion with a favourable view of the UK fell only modestly from 93% to 89%.
Trump has criticised Sir Keir with a barrage of public criticism after he initially denied America permission to use British military bases to strike Iran.
Trump told the Telegraph at the start of the month that he was “deeply disappointed” in Sir Keir and that the Prime Minister’s refusal to let US forces use Britain’s Chagos Islands military base was something that had “probably never happened between our countries before”.
On March 1st, Sir Keir said he would allow US access for “specific and limited defensive purposes”.
But in the following days, Trump told reporters that Sir Keir was “not Winston Churchill” and has reportedly started to call the Labour leader a “loser”.
American conservatives have also become embroiled in rows over free speech in Britain, reacting in horror to events such as the arrest of comedian Graham Linehan for social media posts he made while in Arizona.
