【By Observer Net, Chen Sijia】According to China Central Television News, on July 28 local time, US President Trump and UK Prime Minister Starmer held a meeting in Scotland. After the meeting, Trump posted on social media, urging the UK to reduce taxes on oil companies to encourage them to drill for oil in the North Sea.

As a long-time critic of green energy, Trump, at a press conference on the 27th, accused EU Commission President von der Leyen of "talking nonsense," claiming that "windmills kill people," and then repeated his absurd argument to Starmer.

On July 29, Trump posted on his self-created social platform "Truth Social" saying: "The North Sea oil is a treasure chest for Britain. However, the tax is so high, which makes no sense. They are actually telling the drillers and oil companies, 'We don't need you.' It should be encouraged as soon as possible, which would be a huge wealth for Britain and could significantly reduce the cost of energy for the public!"

Previously, on the day before, Trump also strongly criticized the UK's wind turbines at a press conference, calling them "a very bad and expensive form of energy." He claimed, "Wind is a disaster," and windmills were "ugly monsters that create the most expensive form of energy," and he would not allow these devices to enter the United States.

Trump urged the UK to exploit the oil and gas in the North Sea, saying these energies were "cheaper and less ugly." "You can get a thousand times more energy from such a large place," Trump said, spreading his hands apart about one meter.

Trump continued with some bizarre remarks about wind turbines, claiming, "The blades of wind turbines will corrode in eight years due to salt erosion, and they are difficult to replace."

Regarding this, Starmer defended the UK's energy policy: "We believe in the diversification of the energy structure. Obviously, oil and gas will accompany us for a long time."

On January 3, when Trump was just appointed president of the United States, he posted on his social platform "Truth Social" saying, "Britain is making a very big mistake." Trump wrote, "Open the North Sea, tear down all the wind turbines!" and attached an article from last November about the American oil company Apache's plan to exit the North Sea exploration by the end of 2029.

The parent company of "Apache," APA, submitted documents to the US Securities and Exchange Commission at the time, stating that due to concerns over the UK government's imposition of a windfall tax (official name: Energy Profit Tax, EPL), the company assessed that it was not economically viable to continue production in the UK North Sea, and thus decided to withdraw from exploration.

As the UK shifts towards cleaner energy sources such as renewable energy and nuclear power, the Labour Party government led by Starmer has pledged to stop issuing new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, but will not revoke existing licenses. Last year, the UK government increased the windfall tax on oil and gas companies from 35% to 38%, bringing the total tax rate for the industry to 78%.

After taking office, Starmer lifted the ban on onshore wind projects. The UK government plans to double the onshore wind capacity and increase offshore wind capacity by more than three times to 50GW by 2030.

According to data from the UK National Energy System Operator (NESO), in 2024, wind energy accounted for about 29% of the UK's electricity generation, while natural gas, which has surpassed coal as the dominant source of energy since 2013, accounted for about 25%.

According to UK government data, between 2014 and 2023, the share of renewable energy in total electricity generation in the UK rose from 19.1% to 46.4%. During the same period, the share of wind energy in total electricity generation rose from 9.3% to 28%.

Photo of Trump and Starmer meeting in Scotland

Trump arrived in Scotland on July 25 for a four-day informal visit. During the visit, he met with Starmer to discuss trade issues, and held a press conference on the evening of the 28th. Although both Trump and Starmer tried to emphasize the "good relationship" between them, they occasionally exposed some differences.

At the press conference, Trump gave Starmer "campaign advice." He claimed that if the Labour Party wanted to defeat Nigel Farage's Reform Party in the next British election, Starmer must "lower taxes, reduce immigration, and stop crime." Trump also directed his criticism at Labour member and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, calling him "a terrible person."

Trump had previously had a dispute with Sadiq Khan during his first presidential term. In June 2019, before Trump's visit to the UK, Sadiq Khan wrote an article criticizing Trump as a "fascist," and Trump then accused Sadiq Khan of being a "bad mayor" and a "failure."

However, in response to Trump's criticism, Starmer said, "Actually, he (Sadiq Khan) is my friend."

Trump had previously met with EU Commission President von der Leyen in Scotland. At that time, facing von der Leyen, who advocated embracing clean energy, Trump also talked nonsense.

"Another thing I said to Europe is: we will not allow windmills to be built in the United States. They are killing us. They are suffocating our beautiful scenery, our valleys, our beautiful plains — I'm not talking about planes, I'm talking about beautiful plains," Trump told von der Leyen. "In beautiful areas of the United States, when you look up, you see windmills everywhere. That's a terrible thing."

With von der Leyen remaining silent, Trump also promoted some bizarre statements about wind turbine blades, claiming, "When they start rusting and rotting after eight years, you can't really shut them down or burn them." He also mentioned whales, claiming that the noise from wind turbines is "killing" whales, and that in a certain area of Massachusetts, 18 whales were washed ashore in a short period of time, with the noise "driving them crazy."

In fact, although wind turbine blades do require recycling, their overall lifespan is approximately 30 years, and 90% of wind turbines are recyclable. Regarding the issue of whales, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States stated that there is currently no scientific evidence linking whale deaths to offshore wind farms.

Previously, the UK and the US had reached a trade agreement in May. The UK government agreed to make concessions on importing American food and agricultural products in exchange for the US reducing tariffs on British car exports. The US side still maintains a 10% base tariff.

Last week, White House Press Secretary Levitt stated that Trump and Starmer "will discuss finalizing and implementing the trade agreement."

Trump has already accepted an invitation from King Charles III of the UK to visit the UK for a state visit from September 17 to 19 this year. This will be Trump's second state visit to the UK, considered an "unprecedented visit." According to convention, when a US president visits the UK for the first time, if he visits again, he usually only has tea or lunch with the British king.

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