Every time Keir Starmer meets with Donald Trump, journalists ask each other the same question. ‘Will today be the day it all blows up?’ Ahead of this week’s state visit, the odds were not in Starmer’s favour. Whether it was Peter Mandelson’s departure, Britain’s looming recognition of Palestine or even Starmer’s plummeting poll ratings, today’s press conference was fraught with potential difficulties. But, once again, the Prime Minister survived the encounter relatively unscathed, with the President declining multiple chances to take a swing at his beleaguered counterpart.
In the splendour of the Great Hall at Chequers, the two men began the encounter by hailing the military and scientific bonds between their nations. A new agreement was trumpeted by Starmer. ‘This Tech Partnership has the power to change lives’, he crowed, following yesterday’s announcement of Microsoft’s £22 billion UK spending package. ‘It’s our chance to ensure that technologies like AI, quantum and others amplify human potential.’ But it was Trump who raised eyebrows by his withering remarks on Ukraine, declaring that Putin had ‘let me down. He really let me down.’
Then it was on to the questions. Among Starmer’s No. 10 colleagues, there will be relief at how smoothly this proved to be. There were obvious differences between the two on subjects like Gaza, immigration and renewable energy. ‘You have a great asset here’, Trump told Starmer. It’s called the North Sea.’ Yet no new flanks opened up between the two men. Some in government feared that the defenestrated Lord Mandelson would prove to be the Banquo of this visit. But when asked by Sky about the departure of their ex-ambassador, Trump brazenly declared ‘I don’t know him’. He then threw the question over to Starmer who dead-batted it in his trademark style.
This being a Trump press conference, there was the usual mix of the sublime and the ridiculous. The cancellation of the late-night show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel was raised by one American journalist. ‘He should have been fired a long time ago,’ proclaimed Trump. ‘He was fired for a lack of talent.’ Starmer, unsurprisingly, had nothing to add here. Other lines of inquiry were fraught with greater danger. ‘Why are you waiting for President Trump to leave the country before recognising Palestine?’ asked one. Starmer, sensibly, responded with a lengthy criticism of Hamas and insisted the recognition date had ‘nothing to do with the timing of this visit.’ He was also asked if the UK would follow the US in proscribing ‘Antifa’ as a terrorist organisation. ‘We take those decisions ourselves’, he said, diplomatically.
The top lines from the 40-minute encounter will likely be Trump’s criticism of Putin and his advice to Starmer on the small boats crisis. Regaling the Prime Minister with his handling of the Mexico border, the visiting President said: ‘It doesn’t matter if you call out the military, it doesn’t matter what means you use. But it destroys countries from within and we’re now actually removing the people that came into the country.’ Yet it was a light skirmish compared to the fatal blow which Trump dealt Theresa May here at Chequers seven years ago.
The most intriguing answer in today’s encounter was when both men were asked by GB News about whether Britain ‘is still a Christian country’. Trump ducked the chance to copy JD Vance and attack the UK record on matters such as abortion clinic buffer zones. Instead, he handed the question to Starmer, who chose to reference his christening, despite his longtime atheism. For those in the Prime Minister’s team who are religious, they might wish to say a silent prayer of thanks tonight at how easily today’s encounter went.
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