VIDEO A European leader, accused of imitating Trump: Message about the war with Iran to the tunes of a famous Dire Straits song
A TikTok clip published by the British prime minister, in which military actions against Iran are set to a Dire Straits hit, has sparked a political scandal in London, according to The Guardian.
The video begins with footage of Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters, followed by sequences of British military aircraft and the destruction of a drone. To the tune of 'Money for Nothing', Prime Minister Keir Starmer states: “Our number one priority is protecting our people.”
Starmer refused to join US and Israeli attacks on Iran, but has since authorized “defensive” action.
The presentation drew immediate criticism from the British opposition, who claimed Starmer was “imitating Donald Trump” by turning an international conflict into a spectacle, the source said.
Liberal Democrat MP Al Pinkerton described the choice of song as “particularly insensitive”, given that the British military has long called for a clear plan to increase the defense budget.
“Trump's illegal war in the Middle East is not a publicity stunt, despite what the news outlets might suggest,” Pinkerton said. The deputy referred to White House posts that celebrated the bombing of Iran through a video montage that used sequences from Hollywood movies and shows.
“Downing Street seems unable to avoid being drawn into the orbit of Trump's disturbing confusion between blockbuster and international conflict,” he added.
For its part, the Green Party stated that the post “has echoes of the videos that come out of the White House and glorify war”.
Some voices claim, however, that the presence of the Dire Straits hit in the clip about Iran would not necessarily be a deliberate strategy to imitate Donald Trump's style, but the result of an automatic suggestion by the TikTok algorithm.
The reaction of the prime minister's office
Asked if the prime minister had approved the music used in his social media posts, his spokesman told reporters: “I won't go into details of internal processes, but you have his words on his commitment to defense spending.”
Starmer had previously said at the Munich Security Conference that Britain “will have to spend more and faster” on defence, maintaining a pledge to allocate 2.5% of GDP to the sector by April 2027.
TikTok has become a platform increasingly used by the British leader, whose previous posts had been rated by some analysts as “at the limit of competence”, notes The Guardian.
Earlier in the week, Keir Starmer took to social media to share footage of a phone call he had with the leaders of France and Germany about the outbreak of war. However, in that case, the background music was generic, without stirring up controversy.
