Donald Trump has publicly criticised the United Kingdom’s decision to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining a long-term lease on the strategically critical Diego Garcia military base, describing the move as an act of “total weakness” and “great stupidity.”

This sharp rebuke marks a departure from earlier support by the US government for the May 2025 agreement, which was broadly welcomed by Washington at the time and designed to provide legal security for the UK-US base under a 99-year leaseback arrangement.

In a series of posts on his social media platform, Trump said the UK was effectively giving away a vital military asset with no clear justification and warned that major powers such as China and Russia would take notice of what he called Western “weakness.”

He tied his objections to his broader geopolitical agenda, asserting that the decision underscored why the United States should pursue control of Greenland, a campaign issue he has promoted at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The agreement at the centre of the dispute was negotiated by Britain and Mauritius with the goal of resolving longstanding legal and diplomatic pressure over the status of the British Indian Ocean Territory, while ensuring the continued operation of the Diego Garcia base, which hosts key UK-US defence infrastructure and intelligence capabilities.

The UK government has maintained that the deal strengthens the long-term security of the base despite ceding formal sovereignty, emphasising that the lease safeguards military cooperation and deters regional adversaries.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration has defended the arrangement and insisted that it was made in the national and strategic interest, even as Trump’s comments have been seized upon by opposition figures in London.

Conservative and Reform UK politicians have echoed aspects of Trump’s critique, arguing that the agreement undermines security.

Downing Street, however, has stressed the legal and diplomatic necessity of the treaty and reiterated that no changes to the agreed terms are anticipated despite the renewed criticism from the United States.