Starmer needs to channel Churchill – and call Trump out to his face

In 1939, Britain faced a crossroads. A chance for a defining moment. And that chance was seized by Winston Churchill a year later, in standing firm against appeasement, rallying Britain and its allies to confront the growing threat from Nazi Germany. Churchill did not wait for history to unfold around him – he confronted it, and he shaped it.

That’s why, decades later, he is still respected as one of the greatest prime ministers of all time; studied, quoted, and admired across the world. His legacy endures because he understood that leadership is not about waiting for consensus or avoiding difficult decisions – it’s about knowing when to act, when to stand up and be counted even when friends and allies hesitated.

Now, as the man who holds that same office, Keir Starmer, arrives in Washington, he faces his own Churchill moment. Starmer might not face that same war, but he does face a test of moral clarity, courage, and leadership. He does so in the company of Donald Trump, a man lacking in all three of those qualities.

So what Starmer does next will determine how history remembers him and could define Britain’s role in the world for a generation or more. The President’s latest tripe on Ukraine – that President Zelenskyy is a ‘dictator’ who ‘should never have started the war’ and that Ukraine should be excluded from negotiations about its own future – is ignorant, dangerous, and disgraceful.

Of course, Ukraine didn’t start this war. Russia did. Trump’s revisionism, endorsed by Vladimir Putin’s regime, is a calculated move to justify abandoning Kyiv in its hour of need. Maybe Trump is so ignorant he believes what he says. Maybe he calculates that ‘ending the war’, even on Putin’s terms, will boost his standing with Americans.

But we Britons know better. We may love politely standing in a queue and apologising when someone bumps into us, but beneath that civility, we know who we are, we know what’s right, and we know what we stand for. We should never allow our politeness to be mistaken for passivity.

When democracy is threatened, when bullies attempt to redraw borders by force, and when history is being rewritten before our eyes, even by our closest allies, we do not look the other way. We do not shrug and hope for the best. We know that this moment demands more than polite British diplomacy.

It demands the same moral clarity that saw Churchill take a stand when Europe was under siege before. Frankly, it demands that Starmer call out Trump’s lies for what they are – directly to his face, on his territory, in the White House – and reaffirm, without hesitation, our commitment to Ukraine and the defence of democracy.

Brits understand this because our sense of right and wrong runs through our veins. The question is – does our Prime Minister?. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.

Up Next. Less than 12 months ago, Starmer won a decisive victory. Even if he only serves one full term, he will outlast Trump. Starmer’s number one priority – more important than any domestic issue – must be to ensure the future stability of Europe and NATO’s survival as the world’s greatest defence force.

Churchill knew that alliances, not isolation, were Britain’s greatest strength. Starmer must decide: does he let Trump destroy them, or does he lead the charge in protecting them?. Will Starmer sit in the Oval Office, nodding and grimacing as Donald Trump spews his lies, or will he look him dead in the eyes and tell him in the strongest and clearest way possible: Britain stands with Ukraine before America, and we will not follow you down this path of betrayal, appeasement, and retreat?.

If he does the latter – he will gain respect at home and abroad. French President Emmanuel Macron challenged Trump’s lies on live TV, but his otherwise cautious approach fell short. Starmer must go further. Weathering the next four years by staying quiet and keeping the ‘special relationship’ intact isn’t going to work – for Britain or our allies.

The ‘special relationship’ is finished – it died the moment Trump abandoned Ukraine. We need to stop denying it, and start getting over it. Trump has no interest in alliances beyond his mutual affection with Putin. He has no interest in shared values, and no interest in defending democracy with us.

Britain’s real allies are those standing with Ukraine not just with warm words, but with action. Germany sent tanks and air defence, France supplied missiles and howitzers, Canada gave armoured vehicles and drones, while the Baltics and Nordics delivered artillery, anti-air weapons, training, and F-16s.

Those are our allies. Together, with our neighbours, we can reject Trump’s isolationism and authoritarian sympathies. This is not the time to hedge bets or hope for moderation. It’s time to step up where the US steps back. That means leading an effort to bolster Ukraine, increasing military aid, deploying troops for training and operational support, and preparing for a post-NATO America.