Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner on Tuesday responded to U.S. vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance's comments about Britain being an Islamist nuclear-armed country, characterizing his remarks as "fruity" and dismissive. Rayner assured that the UK would collaborate with whichever candidate wins the U.S. presidential election in November.
Vance, who was recently chosen as Republican candidate Donald Trump's running mate, made his controversial statement at a conference earlier this month. He humorously suggested that Britain was the "first truly Islamist country" to possess nuclear weapons after the Labour Party's victory on July 4th, drawing laughter from the audience.
Discussing his conversation with a friend about which country would be the first "truly Islamist" nation to acquire nuclear arms, Vance mentioned, "We sort of finally decided maybe it's actually the UK, since Labour just took over," referring to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's party.
Rayner, who is both Starmer's deputy in the Labour Party and in government, told ITV that Vance has a history of making "quite a lot of fruity things" and stated, "I don't recognise that characterisation."
"We're focused on governing for Britain and working with our international allies," she added.
Since Trump's first election in 2016, several senior Labour figures have been critical of him, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who called Trump's travel ban on Muslims a "stone cold loser." However, in the lead-up to the upcoming election, senior Labour members have aimed to mend ties, anticipating victory in the polls.
David Lammy, Britain's new foreign minister who opposed a Trump visit to London in 2018, met with Vance in March. Despite Vance's past criticism of Trump, Lammy acknowledged parallels between Vance's memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" and his own upbringing.
Rayner downplayed her previous criticisms of Trump, emphasizing that Labour in government would be different from Labour in opposition and committed to working constructively with the next U.S. administration.
"The U.S. is a key ally of ours, and we will work with whoever the American people elect as their president and vice president," Rayner affirmed.
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