Trump slams UK island handoff deal that could put key US military base at risk

President Donald Trump dramatically reversed course Tuesday on a U.K. plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while warning it could jeopardize U.S. access to the Diego Garcia military base.

Trump’s reversal highlights what a defense expert called a “new Trump Doctrine,” before linking the president’s opposition to the Chagos deal with his Greenland push and cited fears Mauritius could later back out. Writing on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, Trump had called the U.K.’s Chagos decision “an act of great stupidity.” “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base , to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,” Trump wrote.

“There is no doubt th