JD Vance, who was named as former US President Donald Trump’s running mate, sparked controversy after saying the UK under Labour could be the first “truly Islamist” country to possess nuclear weapons.
Vance said he had discussed with a friend which country would be the first “truly Islamist country to get nuclear weapons.”
“Maybe it’s Iran, maybe Pakistan matters, and then we sort of decided that maybe it’s actually the UK because Labour just took power,” he said last week at a conference for British Conservatives last week.
British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, meanwhile, played down Vance’s comments, saying he had a history of making “fruity” remarks.
Britain would work with whoever won the US presidential election in November, Angela Rayner said, adding: “I don’t recognise that characterisation.”
“We want to govern on behalf of Britain and also work with our international allies,” she said.
In one of his first interviews after being nominated as vice president, Vance also called China the greatest threat to America, underscoring his administration’s likely hawkish stance toward Beijing if elected.
The Ohio senator made the remarks during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday. Asked about the war in Ukraine, Vance said Trump would negotiate with Moscow and kyiv to “quickly end this thing so America can focus on the real problem, which is China.”
“This is the greatest threat to our country and we are completely distracted from it,” he said.
Vance, 39, was chosen by Trump days after a failed assassination attempt on the former president upended what was already a chaotic presidential campaign.
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