Donald Trump is clearly bruised by an old ally turning its back in his hour of need

Lest there be any doubt, the special relationship is pending repair.

Donald Trump had barely left the tarmac at Dover Air Base, a president in mournful respect for America's fallen, when his attention turned to the UK prime minister.

Trump is clearly bruised by an old ally turning its back in his hour of need.

This is, after all, a president who maintains America's alliances on America's terms, who questions why international law should come between old friends.

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On Iran, the legality of conflict remains a point of contention.

That matters to a warrior president in a fight to justify conflict in Iran and, possibly, elsewhere (Trump can't stop talking about change in Cuba).

Polls show a majority of Americans against the military intervention, and the country is facing the threat of gas prices going up.

Trump needs political capital and, as such, could well use the validation of allies.

Starmer hasn't been alone in standing firm against Trump on Iran, but the president has picked the special relationship for special treatment.

The UK prime minister has invested heavily in building a rapport with Trump, styling himself as the bridge-builder across the Atlantic.

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It's also hardly surprising when the US president picks him as the point man on points of conflict.

And yet, it had been a day of dignity at Dover Air Base in Delaware.

In this conflict, from this White House, dignity isn't a given.

Dover Air Force Base was the setting for Saturday's "dignified transfer" of the six American soldiers killed in combat.

The president cut a figure of mournful respect as he stood in honour of the six US soldiers killed in combat, the solemn duty of a commander-in-chief.

It was an image in contrast to the picture presented by his administration during a week of hostilities.

Take a look at the social media content posted in recent days by White House staffers.

They've posted short films portraying the attack on Iran as a video game. Footage of destruction is intercut with "point-of-view" video in which you, the viewer, are holding the weapon.

You can almost hear the sniggering and high-fiving of a production team playing it for likes.

It's jingoism and triumphalism for the modern age, and, in conflict, maybe there's a place for both.

In the context, it's also tone deaf and tasteless.

This military campaign has claimed hundreds of lives of various nationalities across a wide area, and Trump is warning there will "likely" be more US casualties.

Currently, the Americans face questions over possible involvement in the bombing of a girl's school that killed more than 160 youngsters - something Trump claimed was "done by Iran" during a gaggle on Air Force One.

The reminders are everywhere of the horrors of war and its enduring trauma.

This is a military action with so many uncertainties surrounding its rationale and its objectives.

To spin it as entertainment on social media is to diminish the impact on all concerned.

It is jarring, as is the hyperbole passing as commentary by the administration's political players.

The dignified transfer of US troops threw a focus back onto the absolute certainty of war, reinforced through time - its tragedy and its loss, laid bare.

There are no likes in that.

(c) Sky News 2026: Donald Trump is clearly bruised by an old ally turning its back in his hour of need