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President Trump holds a bilateral meeting and joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. Starmer presented to Trump an invitation letter from King Charles III for an 'unprecedented' second state visit.
According to the Guadian, dated Andrew Roth in Washington
Thu 27 Feb 2025 13.37 EST
Donald Trump’s meeting with Keir Starmer: key takeaways
Britain’s prime minister is potentially one of the European leaders best placed to handle the mercurial president
President Donald Trump’s meeting with Keir Starmer: key takeaways
Britain’s prime minister is potentially one of the European leaders best placed to handle the mercurial president.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s meeting with U.S.A President Donald Trump this week comes at a crucial moment for the war in Ukraine and the future of the Nato alliance. Europe is looking for leaders who can engage Trump on the future of the continent as the US leader appears more inclined to demand tribute from his allies and cosy up to Vladimir Putin. Sir Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador the US, has called this one of the “most consequential meetings of a British prime minister and president that we have had since the second world war”.
Can the “special relationship” between the US and the UK save the day? Or has the era of transatlantic cooperation ended in the era of “America first”? Starmer has already established a friendly rapport with President Trump and comes bearing promises to raise defense spending and negotiate on trade, but can that overcome President Trump’s impulse to abandon Europe and strike a deal with Russia to end the war as quickly as possible?
President Trump is notoriously mercurial. His decisions are said to be influenced by the last person with whom he spoke. On Thursday, that person will be Prime Minister Starmer, who comes to the White House on the heels of France’s Emmanuel Macron to try his best to argue Europe’s case to the new US president.
President Trump greeted Starmer amicably as the UK prime minister arrived at the White House, where the US president said that the two got along “famously” and called the US-UK relationship “tremendous”.
In an opening gambit, Starmer produced a letter from King Charles inviting Trump to visit the UK. “It’s an invitation for a second state visit. This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented,” Prime Minister Starmer said. President Trump mused of Charles: “He’s a really great gentleman.”
In his opening remarks, Starmer thanked Trump for making peace possible in Ukraine in a sign that the prime minister will limit his criticism of Trump’s sharp diplomatic turn away from Europe and the previous administration’s support for Ukraine.
“Thank you for changing the conversation to bring about the possibility that now we can have a peace deal,” Starmer said. “And we want to work with you to make sure that peace deal is enduring, that it lasts, that it’s a deal that goes down to, historic deal that nobody reaches. And we’ll work with you to make sure that that absolutely happens.”
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