David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, is warning the government of the United Kingdom against taking the olive branch being extended by Vice President J.D. Vance to forge a trade pact.
Writing on X, Frum says that cozying up to the United States at a time when President Donald Trump is launching trade wars against nearly every country on Earth would be geopolitical folly for the United Kingdom.
“In his first term, Donald Trump duped UK politicians into choosing the hardest possible Brexit by dangling the lure of a US-UK trade agreement,” Frum began. “It never came to pass. Today, in an interview with a credulous journalist, VP Vance dangled the lure once more. Will it work again?”
Frum then outlined why the U.K. should not see the U.S. under Trump as an ally but rather as a predator.
RELATED: Trump sabotages planned G7 condemnation of Russian missile strike on Ukraine: report
“To the extent that Trump / Vance have a strategic vision for the US-UK relationship, it is not to strengthen the UK,” he argued. “The vision is to weaken Europe by severing UK from the continent. Trump-Vance true ‘special relationship’ is with Russia.”
Frum concluded by urging the U.K. to forge closer ties with its nearest geographical neighbors rather than its longtime ally on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
“A savvy UK government would prioritize EU ties, not talks with Trump,” he wrote. “His word is worthless, his intentions are malign, his method is chaos, and his preferred partner is Putin. There is no time to waste building strategic autonomy for EU+UK. Trump talks will only waste time.”