CHESHAM, ENGLAND — In a highly unusual and provocative intervention into UK domestic policy, President Donald Trump has suggested that Prime Minister Keir Starmer should consider using the military to stop illegal migration, a proposal that has been met with both diplomatic caution and public debate in Britain. The comments came during a press conference at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s official country residence, marking the conclusion of Trump’s unprecedented second state visit to the UK.
Speaking alongside Starmer, President Trump drew a parallel between the UK’s challenge with migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats and his own efforts to secure the U.S. southern border. “You have people coming in, and I told the prime minister I would stop it,” Trump said. “And it doesn’t matter if you call out the military, it doesn’t matter what means you use, but it’s going to destroy countries from within.”
The direct advice, offered on British soil, was a rare moment of candidness in an otherwise carefully choreographed visit designed to project a united front. While both leaders praised the “special relationship” and announced a new tech and investment deal, Trump’s remarks on migration highlighted a key point of divergence between the two allies.
For his part, Prime Minister Starmer did not directly address the military proposal, instead pointing to his government’s own efforts to tackle the issue. He noted that the UK had just deported its first migrant to France under a new “one in, one out” deal and that his government was taking the matter “incredibly seriously.” The prime minister’s measured response reflects the political sensitivity of using the military for border control in the UK, a measure that some MPs have suggested but has no widespread government support.
The conversation underscores the immense political pressure both leaders face on immigration, a top concern for voters on both sides of the Atlantic. While Trump has used his military as a tool for border enforcement, Starmer’s government has focused on a new Border Security Command and deportation deals. The comments serve as a vivid reminder that for all the pomp of state visits and talk of an unbreakable bond, the two nations’ approaches to some of the world’s most pressing issues remain fundamentally different.