The first White House meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump has received a largely, if not unanimously, warm response from the British media. The Daily Express labelled the president a fan of Britain and said the two men “struck up a warm rapport”.
“The flourishing friendship between Mr Trump and Sir Keir is a foundation on which to build a strong partnership in defence of freedom,” the paper wrote, saying the two men can make the world a safer place if they can deliver a “deal that lasts” in Ukraine.
“The UK, the US and our allies have the chance to make history – and the duty to deter tyranny. “It is right that European nations invest in their defence and do not rely on the US to protect the continent’s democracies. “But the US must not abandon its vital role. Mr Trump should not allow the transatlantic alliance to weaken on his watch.”.
The Daily Mail declared there was “quiet optimism” that the two men could work together after what it called “perhaps the most important 36 hours of Sir Keir’s premiership so far”, naming Europe as a key factor to future relations. “Brexit could be the PM’s trump card,” the paper wrote.
“The President clearly loathes the Brussels bloc, so isn’t it foolish for Sir Keir to risk throwing it away with his EU reset?”. Ukraine was central to the verdict of the Daily Mirror, which said alarm bells would be ringing from the president’s “frightening cosiness with (Vladimir) Putin”.
“The fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance and the threat of trade tariffs looms despite Trump calling the UK a ‘special place’ and Starmer a ‘special man’ who ‘loves his country’,” the paper wrote. Applauding Sir Keir’s use of flattery without showing he was “rolling over”, it said the trip was “well done” but warned “many dangers lie ahead”.
The main dissenting voice was The Daily Telegraph, which labelled the meeting a “missed opportunity”, saying the Prime Minister had focused on getting his deal to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius “over the line” rather than pushing British interests.
“Mr Trump is a leader who is ever ready to confound expectations, and his bark from distance is often worse than his bite up close,” the paper said. “If there is a firm rule in dealing with the president, it is to flatter him, and Sir Keir proved adept at this game.
