U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed Britain’s Parliament on Tuesday, telling them that he had come to ‘calm the waters,’ as tensions between Washington and its European allies have intensified in recent weeks over President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland.
Johnson’s address — the first ever delivered by a sitting U.S. House speaker to the British Parliament — came on the eve of the United States’ 250th anniversary and against a backdrop of strain in transatlantic relations, including Trump’s sharp criticism of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hours earlier over a deal involving the Chagos Islands.
‘I spoke to President Trump at length yesterday, and I told him that I really felt that my mission here today was to encourage our friends and help to calm the waters, so to speak,’ Johnson said.
Johnson emphasized that despite current disagreements, the U.S. and UK remain bound by a durable alliance built on shared history, values and security interests.
‘We’ve always been able to work through our differences calmly as friends. We will continue to do that,’ he said. ‘I want to assure you this morning that that is still the case.’
The speaker said his visit had taken on new urgency as geopolitical tensions escalated in recent days. He described his role as reinforcing stability among allies while signaling resolve to adversaries.
Johnson tied his remarks to the approaching 250th anniversary of American independence, framing the milestone not simply as a celebration, but as a moment of reflection and recommitment — particularly as Western nations confront external threats and internal divisions.
He warned that U.S. adversaries are increasingly challenging Western democracies through ‘increasingly sophisticated forms of subversion.’
