Trump's vice-president pick JD Vance joked UK could be 'first Islamist country to have nuclear weapons' under Labour

16 July 2024, 00:33 | Updated: 16 July 2024, 07:39

Donald Trump's pick for vice-president joked recently that the UK was becoming an "Islamist country".

JD Vance said at a conference for conservatives last week that the UK could become "the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon" after Labour's victory in the General Election.

As the UK already has nuclear weapons, it appears the 39-year-old Ohio senator was joking that the UK was on track to becoming dominated by radical Islam.

He told the National Conservatism conference on Thursday: "I have to beat up on the UK - just one additional thing. I was talking with a friend recently.

"And we were talking about, you know, one of the big dangers in the world, of course, is nuclear proliferation, though, of course, the Biden administration doesn't care about it.

"And I was talking about, you know, what is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon and we were like, maybe it's Iran, you know, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts and then we sort of finally decided maybe it's actually the UK, since Labour just took over."

Despite the apparent dig at Labour, Vance is said to be on good terms with Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Lammy.

The pair met in May when Lammy was still in opposition, and he later referred to the senator as a "friend".

Vance is known as a MAGA insider, despite previously being critical of Trump. He is known for his 'America first' stance on international affairs.

Trump announced the news on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday ahead of the start of the Republican national convention.

He said: "J.D. has had a very successful business career in technology and finance, and now, during the campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond."