Donald Trump second term would be ‘worse than first’, warns former ambassador – particularly for UK relationship
A former UK ambassador to the US has told Sky News a second term for Donald Trump in the White House would be “even more difficult than the first”.
Sir Nigel Sheinwald, who served in Washington between 2007 and 2012, warned the world will see a “supercharged Trump” if he “gets the second wind of a re-election”.
President Joe Biden said earlier this week that his potential rival is “willing to sacrifice democracy” as Mr Trump appeals against Colorado’s decision to bar him from the ballot over the January 6 Capitol riots.
Sir Nigel Sheinwald warned a Donald Trump victory could have huge implications
As polls suggest Mr Trump could be the favourite to win the election in November, Sir Nigel said the world looks on “aghast” at his candidacy – and it would have a big impact on Britain.
“The first term was bad enough for the alliance, for the UK – he humiliated the UK – disregarded the importance of NATO,” he said.
“But I think that the intervening years mean that this is going to be a sequel, and sequels are very often worse than the original films.
“So, I think that he will be an unfettered second-term president. There’ll be a lot of vengeful activity in the US.
“And I think we have to take seriously his threats in relation to Ukraine, in defunding Ukraine in relation to NATO… not putting the money in that’s necessary to keep it going.”
UK relationship ‘caught in cold blast’
A recent USA Today and Suffolk University survey suggests Mr Trump has gained ground among Latino voters and leads Mr Biden among voters under 35.
Donald Trump will be ‘supercharged’ if he wins a second term, Sir Nigel Sheinwald has said
Meanwhile, several polls put Mr Trump at least 30 points ahead of his nearest rivals for the Republican nomination, which he is the overwhelming favourite to win – despite his former vice president calling for a different candidate.
Should he go all the way, then the fundamental problem facing any country trying to deal with the US under Mr Trump is the “unpredictability” and the “huge personal vanity that goes into every decision”, Sir Nigel said.
His relationship with key allies, he added, was “fundamentally different” from any president since the Second World War, particularly when it comes to the UK.
“The country that’s affected most when America is in trouble, when America is less potent, is the UK,” he said.
The UK has been aligned with America for so long, he said, that “when America is unable to project its influence in the way that it wants to… we get caught in the cold blast of that”.
“Let’s not be in any doubt, this will be a huge weakening of the alliance and of the international system,” he added.
Donald Trump the ‘chaos agent’
CNN’s chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour, echoed Sir Nigel’s warning over the implications of Mr Trump’s victory.
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Biden hits out at Donald Trump
Speaking as part of a Sky News panel on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, she said Mr Trump was a “chaos agent” during his first term.
“I think what people need to understand is that when Donald Trump was president, just in terms of the world, he was actually a chaos agent. It’s not just we think he likes dictators – he does,” she said.
“He likes Vladimir Putin. If Vladimir Putin wins in Ukraine, the whole of our post-World War Two order will be destroyed.”
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She also said Mr Trump will be “untrammelled” if he wins the presidency, warning some of his rhetoric has been “Nazi talk”.
“He went as far as to say ‘I will be a dictator for the first day’, he said ‘I will use my justice department to go after all my enemies’,” she said. “‘I am your retribution’ – what does that even mean?”
“About immigrants, he said they infect the blood of Americans. This is Nazi talk, this is really dangerous and he has declared what he will do.
“Now some say ‘your fears are just the fears of demented liberals’, others say that ‘actually he is a genuine, real and proven threat to not only us but also global democracy’.
“And the 14th amendment actually says that any state or federal official who’s taken part in an insurrection is barred from taking office and holding office in the future.”
Mr Trump has previously brushed off criticism of his comments, saying: “I never read [Hitler’s manifesto] Mein Kampf.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
The Israeli Air Force is regarded as one of the country’s most elite units.
So, when hundreds of current and former pilots call for an end to the war in Gaza to get the hostages out, Israelis take notice.
This month, 1,200 pilots caused a storm by signing an open letter arguing the war served mainly “political and personal interests and not security ones”.
The pilots’ protest letter
Part of the letter translated
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the original letter was written by “bad apples”.
But Guy Paron, a former pilot and one of those behind the letter, said the Israeli government had failed to move to phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, brokered under US President Donald Trump.
That deal called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of all the remaining hostages. Mr Netanyahu continues to argue that the war must continue to put pressure on Hamas.
Mr Paron said the (Israeli) government “gave up or violated a signed agreement with Hamas” and “threw it to the trash”.
“You have to finish the deal, release the hostages, even if it means stopping that war,” he argued.
It’s not the first time Israeli pilots have taken up a cause. Many of them also campaigned against Mr Netanyahu’s 2023 judicial reforms.
“In this country, 1,000 Israeli Air Force pilots carry a lot of weight,” Mr Paron added.
“The Air Force historically has been the major force and game-changer in all of Israel’s wars, including this current one. The strength of the Air Force is the public’s guarantee of security.”
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UN runs out of food aid in Gaza
Anti-government campaign spreads
Now, the open letter campaign has spread to other parts of the military.
More than 15,000 people have signed, including paratroopers, armoured corps, navy, special units, cyber and medics. The list goes on.
Dr Ofer Havakuk has served 200 days during this war as a combat doctor, mostly in Gaza, and believes the government is continuing the war to stay in power.
He has also signed an open letter supporting the pilots and accused the prime minister of putting politics first.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the authors of the original letter as ‘bad apples’. Pic: AP
He said Mr Netanyahu “wants to keep his coalition working and to keep the coalition together. For him, this is the main purpose of the war”.
A ceasefire could lead to the collapse of the prime minister’s fragile far-right coalition, which is opposed to ending the war.
Threat of dismissal
The Israeli military has threatened to dismiss those who have signed protest letters.
We met a former pilot who is still an active reservist. He didn’t want to be identified and is worried he could lose his job.
“This is a price that I’m willing to pay, although it is very big for me because I’m volunteering and, as a volunteer, I want to stay on duty for as long as I can,” he told us.
The controversy over the war and the hostages is gaining momentum inside Israel’s military.
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It is also exposing deep divisions in society at a time when there is no clear sign about how the government plans to end the war in Gaza, or when.
The renewed war in Gaza over the last year and a half followed deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 250 taken hostage.
More than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the Israeli military’s response, many of them civilians, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
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