Has Trump Finally Lost It? How The President Caused More International Chaos This Week Than Ever

Posted on 03/09/2026 by Boris Clair

Donald Trump may actually have finally lost it this week.

While the US president already has a reputation for being unpredictable, mercurial and chaotic – to say the least – he seems to have taken it to a new level in the last few days.

The maverick Republican picked a fight with Canada by starting a trade war and then rubbed salt in the wound by renaming Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes on the border between their countries, Lake America.

He upped the pettiness by sharing AI videos showing Canadian geese with his trademark blonde hair and carrying machine guns patrolling the shores of “Lake America”.

Trump is also all over the place with the Iran war, a conflict he started in February.

The US-Israeli strikes against Tehran gave the Iranians the chance to seize control of the major oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz.

They have let almost no trade through the major waterway in the last six months and the global economy continues to suffer.

America’s allies in the Gulf are suffering the real-world consequences as Iran has retaliated by hitting US military bases in the region.

But the president seems to be in denial about the reality of the war.

He even posted an AI video of a US attack on an Iranian oil hub which never actually happened.

Trump appears to be testing new UK prime minister Andy Burnham, too.

The president has refused to deny reports America could stop supporting Britain’s claims to the Falkland Islands.

If the States did withdraw its backing for the British Overseas Territory – and instead start supporting Argentina’s claim to the archipelago – then it would spell major trouble for the UK-US “special relationship” and trigger Burnham’s first international crisis.

Could Trump be looking to punish the UK for not supporting his offensive on Iran, as a leaked Pentagon email from April suggested?

Or is it his way of forcing the government to spend more money on defence. With Trump, you simply can never tell.

This is not the first time the president has upended international diplomacy, of course – his insistence Greenland belongs to him continues to rile Nato members – but his behaviour does appear even more illogical than usual.

It hardly seems politically savvy to focus on the international stage when Americans are preparing to elect members to Congress in the November midterm elections.

The president may not be on the ballot paper but he needs Republicans to hold the Senate and the House of Representatives to get key legislation passed.

Current predictions suggest the electorate are poised to deliver a brutal blow to Trump and his party by handing control of Congress to the Democrats.

Americans are concerned about the cost of living and elected Trump on the promise that he would put “America First” and bring prices down.

Instead, his war in Iran has led to a spike in oil prices and pushed up the cost of living both in the US and around the world.

There is growing anger that he rarely seems focused on the everyday problems of the very people who voted him into the White House.

So why is he still doubling down on that bizarre decision this week?

Listen to Commons People as we unpack the fallout from the recent Trump drama and why he cannot continue to ignore his domestic problems.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

‘Genuinely Disturbing’: Critics Blast Google Maps Over This ‘Weak’ Trump-Inspired Move

Posted on 30/08/2026 by Boris Clair

Google has announced it’s falling in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, changing the name of the body of water for those in the US using its Google Maps service.

The online search giant explained that the move is part of its “long-standing” policy to make updates when there’s name changes in official government sources, thus, those in the US will see “Lake America,” a name cooked up by Trump on Thursday as a result of the ongoing trade war with Canada.

The company noted that America’s northern neighbours will continue to see Lake Ontario, a name that’s been around since the 17th century (predating Canada and the US) and, per scholars, stems from the Iroquois word meaning “shining sea” or “beautiful lake.”

The rest of the world, according to Google, will see “Lake Ontario (Lake America)” when hovering over the body of water on the platform.

Google Maps has now capitulated to Donald Trump and changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.

Apple Maps still uses the correct name. pic.twitter.com/3nDcPHuOsU

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) August 30, 2026

The change is similar to an earlier move by the tech giant after Trump, in his first day back in office, signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”

The move — which also saw the company changing Denali in Alaska back to Mount McKinley on its maps service — sparked backlash at the time, with critics pointing to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai’s attending Trump’s inauguration earlier that month. In the wake of the change, Google Maps reportedly deleted reviews slamming the new name.

One critic on X described the company’s latest act of renaming as “genuinely disturbing.”

“like this will obviously just be changed back day 1 after trumps regime is over but its just deeply sad, not even demoralizing, just pathetic,” wrote @CantEverDie on X.

Another user on the platform blasted the move as “weak,” adding, “no one is calling it that.”

And at least one user shared their disappointment in the company, writing, “One of the things I’m most going to take away from the Trump era is how many people and institutions and corporations don’t actually stand for anything and will capitulate to bad people at a moments notice when having principles is even slightly inconvenient to them.”

‘No More!’ Trump Lashes Out Canada’s Mark Carney Over Trade War

Posted on 23/08/2026 by Boris Clair

Donald Trump has lashed out at Canadian prime minister Mark Carney after their trade negotiations fell apart.

In his first comments since the talks collapsed on Friday, the US president wrote: “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!

“They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!! President DJT.”

The remarks echo his offensive references to Canada as the “51st state” of America since starting his second term.

The breakdown of talks triggered new 50% US tariffs – a tax on foreign imports – on $20 billion (£14.6 billion) worth of Canadian goods on Saturday on a range of goods, from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.

Carney chose to suspend talks rather than to compromise over a deal, making him one of the first world leaders to walk away from talks with Trump.

The Canadian prime minister said the US “asked too much” and “offered too little” in the talks.

He claimed the new tariffs were a “miscalculation” from Trump meant to “hurt and divide us”.

“You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,” he told reporters.

“We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked.”

Carney – formerly the governor of the Bank of England – promised to match the tariffs “dollar for dollar” with a set of retaliatory levies to be announced on September 8.

But US trade representative Jamieson Greer told Fox & Friends Weekend doubled down on Trump’s controversial moves over the weekend, saying: “We’ve said enough and so we’ve taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains.”

This development is the latest sign that the trading partnership between Canada and the US is in tatters with no clear off-ramp for either side.

Blow For Donald Trump As Benjamin Netanyahu Rejects His 15-Point Gaza Peace Plan

Posted on 09/08/2026 by Boris Clair

The Israeli prime minister said his country’s troops will not withdraw from the region until Hamas has “genuinely” disarmed.

His comments are a major blow for Trump’s hopes of ending the conflict.

The US president’s Board of Peace announced last month it had reached an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

But Hamas said that was contingent on Israel ending “all forms of aggression” and withdrawing its forces from Gaza.

Speaking on Sunday, Netanyahu said: “Israel rejects the 15-point document.”

“The Israel Defense Forces will not carry out any withdrawal until the dismantling of Hamas and its weapons,” he said.

“And when I say dismantling Hamas and its weapons, that means heavy weaponry, less heavy weaponry and smaller arms. All weaponry.

“We’re talking about a true dismantling and not a fictitious dismantling.”

Trump first announced his peace plan for Gaza last September.

Trump’s BBC Lawsuit Backfires After Corporation Requests His Financial Records

Posted on 08/08/2026 by Boris Clair

President Donald Trump filed an emergency motion in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC to prevent the disclosure of his financial records in court — and withdrew allegations that the network had damaged his brand and businesses.

The emergency stay granted Thursday in the Southern District of Florida by US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett temporarily blocks the BBC from obtaining detailed financial information on the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which is managed by the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.

“Counsel for the Plaintiff—who also represents the Trust—testified at the July 27, 2026, discovery hearing that the Plaintiff no longer intends to pursue a damages theory premised on injury to the plaintiff’s brands and businesses,” Lett wrote in her motion-granting order.

Trump sued the BBC in December over a documentary that aired on its flagship “Panorama” news program, which spliced together two different sections of a speech he gave on Jan. 6, 2021 — before rioters stormed the Capitol.

Trump argued in his lawsuit that the program caused economic damage to his businesses, but dropped that particular claim ahead of a deadline Thursday to produce financial records corroborating this — which would have included tax returns, financial statements and ownership records.

A lawyer for Trump said during the hearing last month that Trump’s attorneys “don’t want to acknowledge that the brand has or has not suffered any injury,” and are “not pursuing that as part of our damages,” concluding, “It is simply the reputational injury to the President, full stop.”

The president is still seeking $10 billion in damages from the broadcaster.

Attorneys for the BBC denounced the fact that Trump is still seeking damages without financial disclosure.

Attorneys for the BBC argued Wednesday in a memorandum opposing the motion that Trump could have focused only on his supposed reputational harm when he first filed the lawsuit, and decried that he is still seeking damages without providing any actual disclosure.

“In fact, claiming $10 billion in harm while purporting to disclaim damage to Plaintiff’s business and professional interests renders it all the more implausible that Plaintiff will ever be able to show such damages,” the attorneys wrote Wednesday in the memo.

Trump’s lawyers on Wednesday had called the BBC’s request for disclosure “shockingly broad,” arguing it would cause irrevocable harm to the trust overseeing his companies. While Trump succeeded Thursday, the emergency stay does not necessarily shield his records forever.

The court could still decide that the BBC is entitled to obtain relevant financial information. The emergency stay itself will remain in effect until Lett rules on whether or not to lift it — following updated filings from Trump and his attorneys regarding the ongoing lawsuit.

Trump And Burnham: A Budding Bromance Or A Disaster Waiting To Happen?

Posted on 06/08/2026 by Boris Clair

“Terrific.” That was the word Donald Trump used to describe Andy Burnham this week.

It’s a far cry from the belittling way the US president played down the prime minister’s past job in Greater Manchester by calling him a “mayor of a town” just last month.

Clearly their one and only conversation over the phone on Burnham’s first day in No.10 won Trump over. So could a bromance be brewing?

The president appears to be delighted over what he saw as the PM’s more open-minded attitude towards drilling in the North Sea.

Keir Starmer refused to expand fossil fuel extraction on Trump’s instruction when he was in power while Burnham has vowed to take a “more pragmatic approach”.

The president also loves a winner, and Burnham is still popular within Labour and the wider country right now – while Starmer became the most unpopular PM on record.

However, like Starmer, Burnham is bound by Labour’s 2024 manifesto not to issue any more oil and gas exploration licences.

That means any expansion of the North Sea will likely fall short of Trump’s hopes of “opening up” the whole area.

The PM has avoided talking about the president at length so far, but claimed he won’t be afraid to call him out when he feels it is necessary.

He also refused to say he trusts the president during a BBC interview, though he did invite him to Manchester.

Burnham is perhaps wise to be cautious.

He would not be the first UK prime minister to eventually incur Trump’s wrath over domestic policies – even if they started out on the right foot.

Trump fell out with Theresa May over her “foolish” approach to Brexit, calling her EU deal a “disaster” – despite initial warmth between them.

Boris Johnson was described as “Britain Trump” by the president himself, but they faced some frictions over Chinese company Huawei’s involvement in Britain’s 5G network.

Starmer, initially described as the “Trump whisperer”, bent over backwards to appeal to the president, even inviting him for a historic second state visit to the UK.

But they came to blows over the former PM’s refusal to get involved in the Iran war.

They also clashed over immigration, Nato, Greenland, tariffs, wind turbines and North Sea drilling, meaning they were barely on speaking terms when he left office.

And Burnham – at least, for now – is further to the left than any of those three predecessors, meaning the Republican president is even more likely to disagree with him.

The prime minister’s decision to appoint Ed Miliband as foreign secretary might also be a major obstacle in their relationship.

There is allegedly “genuine anger” at that decision due to Miliband’s opposition to North Sea drilling.

The Trump administration has reportedly nicknamed him “Miliwatt” already in an apparent dig to his enthusiasm for net zero.

The UK-US relationship may also be put to the test when, as is expected, Trump’s domestic power diminishes when his American supporters turn on him during the US midterms.

That could mean Burnham – if he is still propped up in the UK polls – might be more outspoken if he believes the president looks weaker.

Alternatively, Trump could turn on the prime minister as soon as his honeymoon period is over.

In this week’s Commons People, we look at whether this really could be a strong alliance – and unpick all the potential pitfalls which could undo their relationship altogether.

Burnham Says He Told Trump He Will Be ‘Pragmatic’ About North Sea Oil And Gas

Posted on 30/07/2026 by Boris Clair

Andy Burnham has confirmed he told Donald Trump he would be “pragmatic” about drilling in the North Sea for oil and gas.

Reporters were surprised after the US president insisted the new prime minister told him over the phone that the UK will “open up” the fossil fuel reserves under his premiership.

Trump said on Wednesday: “The new gentleman [Burnham], when I spoke to him, he said he’s going to open up the North Sea.”

In response, the PM told the media on Thursday: “I indicated in the phone call that we had a week last Monday that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea and that is my intention as we go forward from here.

“There is a resource there. When people are struggling, you can’t ignore that, and hence me indicating that to the president.”

The topic is deeply controversial because of the ramifications extracting and then burning fossil fuels has on climate change.

Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer clashed with Trump over his reluctance to drill for more oil and gas in the North Sea, even amid growing energy security concerns.

Supporters of North Sea expansion suggest new drilling licences would help create jobs and support British industry.

Burnham’s foreign secretary Ed Miliband was against further drilling in the last government.

He was determined, as Starmer’s energy secretary, for the country to reach its Net Zero by 2050 goal.

However, he’s now been moved out of the energy brief so it is unclear what influence he will have that area of policy.

Labour’s 2024 manifesto also promised voters it would not issue any new licences for further extraction in the North Sea – and Burnham has vowed to stick to that set of pledges.

But, there could be wriggle room as the manifesto notes that existing licences will be allowed to remain.

That means the government could still look to enact or expand the extraction sites already active.

Madonna’s Rep Denies Rumours Singer Was Spotted In Donald Trump’s World Cup Suite

Posted on 21/07/2026 by Boris Clair

Madonna has hit back at the suggestion that she spent a portion of the World Cup final in the same suite as US president Donald Trump.

On Sunday night, the Queen of Pop was one of the headliners at Fifa’s first ever World Cup halftime show, performing a mash-up of her classic song Music and recent hit Danceteria alongside some iconic football cameos.

After the final, footage began doing the rounds on social media which some suggested showed Madonna hanging out in the same suite as the US leader and First Lady (one such post has racked up almost 24 million views at the time of writing, in the two days since it was first shared).

However, a rep for the Like A Prayer singer has since clarified to Rolling Stone that it is not her in the video, and that she was not ever in Trump’s suite at the World Cup.

Donald Trump on Sunday night at the World Cup final

Since Trump’s political career began in the 2010s, Madonna has been among his vocal detractors.

At the Women’s March ahead of his 2017 inauguration, the Grammy winner raised eyebrows when she delivered a speech claiming that she’d thought “an awful lot about blowing up the White House” since his election.

This prompted a response from Trump himself at the time, who branded Madonna “disgusting” and claimed that her remarks were “disgraceful to our country”.

Following the controversy that ensued, she later clarified that her comment had been taken “wildly out of context”, insisting: “I am not a violent person, I do not promote violence and it’s important people hear and understand my speech in its entirety rather than one phrase.”

After Trump’s victory in the most recent US election was declared, Madonna made headlines when she posted a picture of a cake emblazoned with the message “fuck Trump” on Instagram, fuming at the time that she was “trying to get my head around why a convicted felon, rapist, bigot was chosen to lead our country because he’s good for the economy”.

Last year, Madonna continued to make a string of comments against Trump, accusing his administration of “slowly dismantling all the freedoms we have been fighting for and WON over the years”, referring specifically to LGBTQ+ rights.

“Don’t give up the fight!” she urged her followers.

The chart-topping musician later lamented that “fascism” had “become banal and the norm”, and months afterwards, criticised him again in an impassioned post to commemorate World AIDS Day.

Madonna – a vocal advocate for HIV and AIDS awareness throughout her career – wrote on social media: “Donald Trump has announced that World AIDS Day should no longer be acknowledged.

“It’s one thing to order federal agents to refrain from commemorating this day, but to ask the general public to pretend it never happened is ridiculous, it’s absurd, it’s unthinkable.

She added: “I bet he’s never watched his best friend die of AIDS, held their hand, and watched the blood drain from their face as they took their last breath at the age of 23.”

Madonna’s criticism of Trump, in fact, stretches back a lot further than his presidency, as she was branding him a “wimp” in the press as far back as 1990.

Trump Criticises Keir Starmer Yet Again After Resigning as Prime Minister

Posted on 23/06/2026 by Boris Clair

Donald Trump has described Keir Starmer as a “lovely man” who “really hurt himself” following the prime minister’s decision to resign.

The US president – who bizarrely posted on social media that Starmer was going to quit a day before he actually did – took the opportunity to attack Labour policies when asked about the PM by reporters.

He said: “I think he’s a lovely man, but you’re really messing up energy, you’ve got windmills all over the place and in the meantime you have the North Sea oil and they won’t let anybody drill! It’s one of the great fields in the world.”

He continued: “The UK buys much of its energy – you know where? Norway. You know where they get their oil? The North Sea.

“The UK has a much better portion of the sea. They don’t want to do it for environmental purposes.”

The UK does allow drilling in the North Sea for oil but only for the existing licences. It has permanently banned any new explorations.

The fossil fuels extracted is then be sold on to the highest bidder on the international stage.

The oil can not be used domestically for UK energy because domestic refineries are not able to refine it, meaning expanding North Sea drilling would not directly ease the country’s energy problem.

Even so, Trump has regularly criticised Labour’s refusal to “drill, baby, drill”.

The president continued: “I told him [Starmer] – he’s sort of a friend of mine – I mean, he was not good to us with Nato, he said we can’t use the island to land, that was a first, for a couple of weeks.

“He said, but I gave it to you – that was a bad move, that hurt him badly. But I’m going to wish well. But he’s got two problems, energy and immigration. And crime.

“He’s really hurt himself very badly.”

Starmer did fall out with Trump after he refused to let the US use UK military bases to launch offensive strikes on Iran.

He did grant permission for limited, defensive strikes on the Middle East, but the president was deeply offended and lambasted the PM in public for weeks.

No other Nato ally offered to help Trump with his war against Iran, either.

But Trump regularly chose Starmer as his main punching bag, saying he is no “Winston Churchill” and comparing him to Neville Chamberlain, the PM who associated with Nazi appeasement.

🚨 WATCH: Donald Trump reacts to Keir Starmer resigning as Prime Minister

“He’s a very nice man. Sort of a friend of mine. I mean, he was not good to us with NATO… he said we can’t use the island… but I wish him well” pic.twitter.com/3i9RTurid5

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 22, 2026

Starmer declared he was stepping down as Labour leader on Monday, and laid out a timetable for his departure as prime minister.

Andy Burnham, the new Makerfield MP and most popular politician in the Labour, is the only person to put themselves forward into the contest so far.

If no other MP can build up enough support from fellow MPs, he will run uncontested and likely be in No.10 by July 18 at the latest.

‘Not Good!’: Trump Blasts Italy’s Prime Minister Again As G7 Feud Spills Over

Posted on 22/06/2026 by Boris Clair

President Donald Trump slammed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni again on Sunday, accusing her of refusing to support the US military after he unilaterally waged war against Iran.

In a Truth Social post that did not mention her by name but by her job title, Trump wrote: “After spending Trillions of Dollars on NATO, Italy, and its Prime Minister, wouldn’t even think of becoming involved with the Islamic Republic of Iran and their very serious Nuclear Threat. For decades, we defend them but, when tested, they are not there to defend us, and the rest of the World. Not good!”

A spat that began at the G7 summit last week is boiling over, in part due to Trump’s propensity to beef with fellow world leaders, most of whom are allies.

Trump earlier claimed that Meloni essentially groveled for a photo op with him during the get-together. “She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her,” he said. He repeated the claim.

Meloni, who reportedly challenged Trump on issues related to the war in Iran during the summit, said he showed more deference to enemies than to allies. She said his claims were “completely made up.”

Trump suggested Meloni was trying to cozy up to him because of her “falling numbers.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled a visit to the US in the wake of the spat, calling Trump’s accusations “serious and offensive.”

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