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Multiple top UK officials and members of the royal family have condemned President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting that NATO troops stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.

What Trump said: During an interview with Fox News, President Trump said that the United States had “never needed” NATO and questioned the alliance’s value, saying, “We’ve never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, little off the front lines.” He further suggested that NATO allies might not come to America’s aid if needed.

What’s going on now: Following President Trump’s remarks, a number of senior UK officials pushed back against his comments. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the remarks “insulting and frankly appalling,” adding, “I am not surprised they have caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” He said that if he had spoken in such a way, “I would certainly apologise.”

The UK’s Defence Secretary, John Healey, directly countered Trump’s claims by pointing to the human cost of the conflict, writing that Britain and its NATO allies “answered the US call” after 9/11. He emphasized that “more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan,” a figure widely cited as 457 deaths over two decades of fighting. By comparison, the United States lost about 2,460 service members in the same war.

Members of the royal family also weighed in, with Prince Harry, who served two frontline tours in Afghanistan, issuing a personal statement in response. “I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there,” he said, adding that the sacrifices of British and allied soldiers “deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.”

As of now, the White House has not commented on the statements coming out of the UK.