Love him or loathe him, Donald Trump is getting results. Sir Keir Starmer's visit to the court of the Donald is a case in point. For years American presidents have been urging Europeans to spend more on defence, in vain. Just before hopping onto a plane to Washington Britain's prime minister announced he's doing just that. Other European leaders will follow.
And for three years Americans have been urging the Europeans to pull their weight more over Ukraine. They are now scrambling to do so. That is probably a very good thing for Europe in these perilous times. But there is jeopardy too for Starmer and the rest of Europe. To say this president is acting like no other is a huge understatement.
We have known for years that while previous US presidents saw alliances with other Western nations as mutually beneficial promoting their joint security and prosperity, Trump sees them as ripoffs. In Trump's world view, for one country to prosper another must lose. There is no win-win. That became abundantly clear in his first term in office.
But the approach to the world is both transactional and now predatory it seems with Trump 2.0. đ Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app đ. He threatens friends with swingeing tariffs for instance and demands the mineral riches of Ukraine - a country already broken by three years of war.
More than that, he runs his presidency less like a democratically elected leader and more like the court of an emperor. Other leaders must come and pay tribute seeking to influence his mind and bring tribute. Britain's prime minister is taking his promise of more defence spending with him.
Follow our channel and never miss an update. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in the White House with his offering, a watered-down version of the minerals deal he initially rejected. Starmer will hope the meeting will secure Britain favours, while acutely aware those favours can be taken away equally quickly. Ask US allies Canada and Mexico.
And he will hope to preserve the so-called special relationship between America and Britain. But knows this president will be asking what's in it for him. Trump appears to favour relations with strongmen and autocrats over allies and democracies. In his world view, the strong prevail, and the weak are preyed upon.
Be the first to get Breaking News. Install the Sky News app for free. On its own, Britain is vulnerable in this rapidly shifting new world order. Whatever wins there are for Starmer in his Oval Office encounter there is no guarantee he can keep them for long with an ally this unpredictable.
