Trump says U.K.'s Starmer can "recover" as Epstein scandal hits him again

World Trump predicts U.K.'s Starmer can "recover" from scandal over Epstein-linked ex-ambassador Peter Mandelson By Frank Andrews Frank Andrews Journalist Frank Andrews is a CBS News journalist based in London. Read Full Bio Frank Andrews April 21, 2026 / 12:21 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google London — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is once again mired in a scandal over his decision to appoint a former friend of Jeffrey Epstein as the U.K.'s ambassador in Washington. Despite disparaging Starmer repeatedly in recent weeks over his stance on the Iran war, President Trump weighed in to offer some much needed — if slightly tepid — support on Monday evening.Some members of Britain's parliament are demanding that Starmer resign amid new revelations about the government vetting process for Peter Mandelson, who has a long history of close ties with the late American financier and convicted sex offender."Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom acknowledged that he 'exercised wrong judgement' when he chose his Ambassador to Washington. I agree, he was a really bad pick," Mr. Trump wrote after Starmer apologized again to Epstein's victims and the British public on Monday for his decision. "Plenty of time to recover, however!" added Mr. Trump. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance are seen with Peter Mandelson, then-British Ambassador to the United States, in the Oval Office at the White House, May 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  Anna Moneymaker/Getty What did Keir Starmer know and when?The latest manifestation of the Mandelson scandal — which drew calls for Starmer to resign based on previous revelations in February — centers on what the prime minister knew, or should have known, about a government security vetting that apparently deemed the Epstein associate a poor choice for the ambassadorship.Starmer fired Mandelson — a mainstay of Starmer's own Labour Party since the 1990s — from his job as...