Minister Slaps Down Trump's Bizarre Decision To Rename VE Day
A minister has hit back at Donald Trump’s idea of renaming VE Day and downplaying Europe’s involvement in the war.
VE Day, celebrated on May 8, stands for Victory in Europe and marks the date when World War 2 ended on the continent.
British and American troops continued fighting in the Pacific until August 14, 1945, known as VJ Day.
But the US president has decided to renamed VE Day ‘Victory Day for World War 2’, and turn Armistice Day – the celebration of the defeat of the Germans in 1918 – into ‘Victory Day for World War One’.
“We won both wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery or military brilliance,” Trump claimed over the weekend.
Reminded of these comments on LBC on Monday, veterans minister Alistair Cairns hit back: “Yeah so I think it’s victory in Europe, not necessarily because of Europe.
“What I would say is we don’t want to change all the posters now on VE Week, so I think we need to focus on just remembering that generation, that sacrificed so much for this country.”
Cairns continued: “We collectively won the war. I’ve worked with American forces all over the world for the last 20 years, I would say that relationship is the strongest it has ever been and it will continue to be so.”
LBC presenter Ben Kentish said: “That’s a direct insult from the incumbent president of the United States to Britain’s veterans, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t pay too much attention to this,” the minister replied. “This is about VE Day, this is about veterans, the greatest generation. That’s what we should be focusing on.”
Kentish pushed: “Why won’t you stand up for them, respectfully, minister, when the US –”
But Cairns quickly hit back by reminding the presenter that he served in the military for 24 years and just launched a programme to restructure government support for veterans.
Kentish then suggested that Trump is “disgracefully disrespecting” British service men and women with his remarks.
Cairns replied: “The alliance won the war. No one nation knows more than anyone else. It was a collective effort to win the Second World War.”