\n
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRod Stewart has slammed President Donald Trump\u2019s false claims that Nato soldiers avoided the front lines in the war in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Trump made his comments in an interview with Fox News in which he downplayed Nato\u2019s contribution in Afghanistan, saying: \u201cWe\u2019ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they\u2019ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did \u2014 they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments drew criticism from a range of European politicians, including Trump\u2019s former Palm Beach neighbor, the British rock star Rod Stewart, 81.<\/p>\n
The \u201cMaggie May\u201d rocker branded Trump a \u201cdraft dodger\u201d for \u201ccriticizing our troops in Afghanistan for not being on the front line.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said in a video posted to Instagram: \u201cI was born just after [World War II], and I\u2019d like respect for our armed forces who fought and gave us our freedom, so it hurts me badly, deeply, that I read the draft dodger Trump is criticizing our troops in Afghanistan for not being on the front line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Rod Stewart called President Trump a \u2018draft dodger\u2019 for his \u2018unbearable\u2019 remarks about Nato troops (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nStewart continued: \u201cWe lost over 400 of our guys. Think of their parents, think about it, when Trump calls them almost like cowards. It\u2019s unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI may just be a humble rock star, I\u2019m also a knight of the realm, and I have my opinions,\u201d Stewart added, calling on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to make \u201cdraft dodger Trump apologize.\u201d The Independent <\/em>has contacted the White House for comment.<\/p>\nStewart and Trump were reportedly good friends in previous years. In an interview with Radio Times<\/em>, Stewart said he used to know Trump \u201cvery, very well,\u201d and he would attend his Christmas parties, but they were no longer friends after he became president.<\/p>\nMore than 1,100 non-US coalition fighters died in the conflict that began in 2001, according to veteran charity Help for Heroes. The overwhelming majority of those were from Nato countries, while more than 2,300 members of the US armed forces were killed.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Rod Stewart and Donald Trump were formerly neighbors in Palm Beach (Instagram via @sirrodstewart)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nTrump\u2019s comments have also drawn ire from Prince Harry, a veteran who completed two frontline tours in Afghanistan, who responded to Trump\u2019s comments on Friday evening, stating that the sacrifices of British soldiers \u201cdeserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president later backtracked on his comments after a phone call with Starmer, paying tribute to \u201cthe great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom\u201d in a Truth Social post.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It\u2019s a bond too strong to ever be broken,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you all, and always will! President DONALD J. TRUMP.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Rod Stewart has slammed President Donald Trump\u2019s false claims that Nato soldiers avoided the front lines in the war in Afghanistan. Trump made his comments in an interview with Fox News in which he downplayed Nato\u2019s contribution in Afghanistan, saying: \u201cWe\u2019ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they\u2019ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did \u2014 they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.\u201d The comments drew criticism from a range of European politicians, including Trump\u2019s former Palm Beach neighbor, the British rock star Rod Stewart, 81. The \u201cMaggie May\u201d rocker branded Trump a \u201cdraft dodger\u201d for \u201ccriticizing our troops in Afghanistan for not being on the front line.\u201d He said in a video posted to Instagram: \u201cI was born just after [World War II], and I\u2019d like respect for our armed forces who fought and gave us our freedom, so it hurts me badly, deeply, that I read the draft dodger Trump is criticizing our troops in Afghanistan for not bein…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11205"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}