LONDON – On Tuesday, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner downplayed comments made by U.S. vice presidential contender J.D. Vance, who referred to Britain as an “Islamist nuclear-armed country.” Rayner described Vance’s remarks as part of his history of making “fruity” statements.
Rayner emphasized that Britain would cooperate with the winner of November’s U.S. presidential election. At a conference earlier this month, Vance, recently named as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate, claimed that Britain was the “first truly Islamist country” to possess nuclear weapons following the Labour Party’s victory in the July 4 election, which elicited laughter from the audience.
Vance recounted a discussion with a friend about which country might be the first “truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon,” concluding humorously that it might be the UK, referencing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.
Rayner, who serves as Starmer’s deputy in both the Labour Party and as prime minister, told ITV that Vance had made many “fruity things in the past,” and she did not recognize his characterization of the UK. “We’re interested in governing on behalf of Britain, and also working with our international allies,” she said.
Since Trump’s first election in 2016, several senior Labour figures have criticized him. His proposals to restrict Muslims from traveling to the United States were particularly condemned by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whom Trump called a “stone cold loser.” Despite this, senior Labour figures have aimed to mend relations in anticipation of the November election.
Britain’s new foreign minister, David Lammy, who protested against a Trump visit to London in 2018, met with Vance in March. Lammy noted that Vance’s bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” had parallels to his own upbringing.
Rayner also downplayed her previous criticisms of Trump, asserting that Labour would adopt a more constructive approach in government compared to opposition and would work with whoever wins the November election. “The U.S. is a key ally of ours, and if the American people decide who their president and vice president is, then we will work with them, of course we will.”