President Trump on Tuesday defended his sharply worded Truth Social post blasting the United Kingdom over a controversial deal to transfer and lease back Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius — a move his own administration had formally endorsed months earlier.
Asked by a reporter about a May State Department statement praising “the historic agreement” he later criticized, Trump said he believed the terms had shifted since initial discussions.
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“I think that they, you know, when they originally were going to do it, they were talking about doing some concept of ownership, but now they’re looking to essentially just do a lease and sell it,” Trump said at a wide-ranging White House press conference. “And I’m against that.”
The president went on to question Britain’s motives — and whether financial pressures in London were driving the decision.
“You know, it’s not like Greenland, but it’s a reasonably important area of the globe,” he said. “But I think they should keep it. I don’t know why they’re doing it — do they need money?”
The deal centers on the Chagos Archipelago, a remote chain of islands in the Indian Ocean that Britain has controlled since separating it from Mauritius in the 1960s. Its largest island, Diego Garcia, hosts a major joint US-UK military base that has long served as a critical hub for American naval and air operations across the Middle East, Africa and the Indo-Pacific.
Britain had faced mounting international pressure to relinquish the territory, including adverse rulings and votes at the United Nations, with Mauritius arguing that continued British control represented lingering colonial rule.
Under the agreement, London would cede sovereignty over the islands while leasing Diego Garcia back to ensure uninterrupted military operations.
The plan had raised concerns among US military officials and lawmakers, who have warned that transferring sovereignty — even with a lease-back — could expose the strategically vital base to political instability or foreign influence, The Post previously reported.
“This is an important story with strategic implications,” RAND Corporation senior international defense analyst Timothy Heath told The Post in 2022. “Diego Garcia … is a very valuable basing facility due to its location in the Indian Ocean. The US does not have great access outside of Diego Garcia in that part of the world.”
Critics have also pointed to Mauritius’ deepening economic ties with China, which has expanded its footprint across the Indian Ocean region.
Pentagon planners had cautioned that any change in control could complicate operations at Diego Garcia, which has supported wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and remains central to US power projection against Iran and other regional threats.
Some defense officials previously warned that future Mauritian governments could revisit or restrict US access under diplomatic pressure.
But Trump’s State Department on May 22 issued a statement endorsing the agreement “following a comprehensive interagency review.”
“The Trump Administration determined that this agreement secures the long-term, stable and effective operation of the joint US-UK military facility at Diego Garcia,” the statement said. “This is a critical asset for regional and global security.”
The statement added that President Trump had expressed his support for the agreement during a White House meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer — a position he made clear Tuesday he no longer shares.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump posted on social media.
European allies have chided Trump’s rhetoric on taking Greenland – even by military force if necessary – since it’s controlled by NATO ally Denmark.
Trump said he’ll be in conversations with world leaders in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday where he’s traveling for the World Economic Forum.
“I think that we will work something out where NATO’s going to be very happy,” Trump said of Greenland.
