Sir Keir Starmer could visit Donald Trump “very soon”, the US President has suggested. The Prime Minister spoke with Mr Trump in an impromptu phone call on Thursday, where the pair discussed a “forthcoming” visit. Speaking to reporters from the White House on Friday, Mr Trump reflected on his phone call with Sir Keir on Thursday and said: “He asked for a meeting and I agreed to the meeting, we’re going to have a friendly meeting, very good.
“We have a lot of good things going on. But he asked to come and see me and I just accepted his asking.”. Responding to further questions about a date, he added: “Very soon, I think he wants to come next week or the week after.”. Earlier on Friday Downing Street said that Sir Keir and the president discussed “his forthcoming visit to the US” in a phone call on Thursday. In what is understood to have been an impromptu call from Mr Trump, while Sir Keir was meeting Mark Burnett, Washington’s special envoy to the UK, the pair also touched on the special relationship between the UK and the US.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister was pleased to host President Trump’s special envoy to the United Kingdom, Mark Burnett, at Downing Street last night, during which he took a call from President Trump and discussed his forthcoming visit to the US.”. She added: “Mr Burnett and the Prime Minister agreed on the unique and special nature of the UK-US relationship, the strength of our alliance and the warmth of the connection between the two countries.”.
A photograph of the meeting posted by the US embassy showed Sir Keir speaking to the president while at the dinner table in 10 Downing Street alongside Mr Burnett and American charge d’affaires, Matthew Palmer. Sir Keir’s planned trip comes as the UK faces the looming threat of trade tariffs set by the United States. Mr Trump said he plans to impose “reciprocal tariffs” on all countries who add extra costs to US goods.
