As he boarded the plane home from Washington, DC, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer allowed himself a moment to relax after a whistle-stop round of diplomacy and uncharacteristically tactile exchanges with President Donald Trump.
“I’m happy,” he told his travelling companions, giving a Trump-esque thumbs up.
But if Starmer felt he could relax, elated Downing Street aides saw their diplomatic success as a moment for celebration. On the plane home aides ordered rounds of two drinks at a time, leaving thirsty journalists at the back of the Prime Minister’s jet gasping when the air stewards realised they had quickly run out of glasses.
Starmer travelled home with much to be satisfied about, despite falling short of his top objective to obtain an American security “backstop” to protect Ukraine from further attacks after an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Starmer charmed Trump on their first meeting since the Republican retook office by appealing to his love of pomp and validation by Royal association by delivering a personal invitation from the King to attend a second state dinner, which the Prime Minister cast as “unprecedented” and a testimony to the special relationship.
Observers were left slack-jawed at the warm welcome Starmer received from the President, who even praised his British accent. Ahead of the formal negotiations the two leaders met in the Oval Office, with Trump manspreading and Starmer apparently nervous, legs crossed, tucked the corner of his light-yellow chair. “Do you want to say something?” Trump asked.
After Starmer handed over the King’s letter, the President got all affectionate. “Come here,” he said to Starmer, and the two leaders gripped hands. The Brit did his best to look cool.
Next was a working lunch of salad, sea bass and chocolate caramel cake and the exchange of gifts, including a tartan golf cap for Trump and a US soccer shirt for Starmer. After two hours of diplomacy the pair were back for a news conference.
In the interim Starmer had clearly asserted himself. Trump said he was a “tough negotiator” and was worth whatever the British taxpayer was coughing up for him.
Trump even offered Starmer a trade deal that could exempt the UK from being hit with American tariffs as he hailed the “wonderful” relationship between the two nations. That’s a boost to Britain as the threat to impose tariffs had the potential to derail Starmer’s plan to bet the house on economic growth.
It’s expected to stop short of a full free trade deal, focusing on technology, science and AI and building on the Atlantic Declaration signed by the last administration.
Another diplomatic win for Starmer was the confirmation from Trump that the US would apparently not block British plans to return the Chagos Islands and lease back Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, which is home to a sizeable military base.
Starmer’s charm with a steely core and his diplomatic wins will go some way to assuaging concerns from his Labour MPs at home that the premier has shifted too far to the right.
However, the shine was wiped off his hero’s return by the resignation of ultra-loyal international development minister Anneliese Dodds. If representatives of the soft-left of the Labour Party see themselves as having been pushed to one side under Starmer’s change of tack, expect even more blowback from Labour MPs in the coming weeks and months.
A diplomatic win in the US may also come at a cost of driving a further wedge between the UK and Europe, as Trump repeated his assertion he prefers to deal with London over Brussels.
That will come under immediate test when Starmer hosts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and more than a dozen other European leaders in London on Sunday to discuss security guarantees the continent can offer Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
However, it could instead give a boost to co-operation between the UK and the European Union on defence and encourage the EU negotiators to separate out their demands that security is packaged up with demands on fishing and youth mobility.
But there was one area where Trump and Starmer could not agree: Russia and Ukraine.
Trump told Starmer he trusts Russian president Vladimir Putin to keep his word and that the presence of US workers digging for minerals in Ukraine would deter Russia from “playing around”.
Trump’s ambiguity could be a deliberate ploy to leave Putin uncertain about what the US would do if he were to attack European peacekeepers.
But the US’s equivocation on the issue matters because of the high-stakes implications. Deploying British troops to Ukraine alongside other Nato nations – although not necessarily led by Nato – as part of a peacekeeping force would be one of the most significant decisions of his premiership. The lessons from the never-ending missions to Iraq and Afghanistan can’t be far from his mind.
The Europeans want Trump to offer US aerial intelligence, surveillance and air cover as a last resort to assist European peacekeeping troops should they come under attack from Russian forces after any peace deal. Trump declined to offer such a guarantee, although when pushed he did say: “If they need help, I will always be with the British.”
Starmer has every reason to come arrive home from his visit pleased with his reception. In the court of Emperor Donald, once the top guy decides he likes you, you’re in. And that lasts apparently until further notice.
But the Prime Minister was also at the mercy of Trump’s manners. Although flattering Starmer, the President appeared to rudely interrupt him at one point of the press conference by saying “that’s enough” and cutting him off. The White House later said the comment was directed at a reporter, not the PM.
We saw a different side to Starmer in Washington. The Prime Minister’s decision to take the invitation from the King out of his inside jacket pocket was an unexpected piece of stagecraft. But the reply was peak-Trump.
“I must make sure his signature is on that,” the President told Starmer. “Otherwise, it’s not quite as meaningful.”
Luckily, the King had signed the letter in black felt tip pen. “And that’s quite a signature, isn’t it?” Trump said. “Beautiful.”
Comments
Leave a Comment