Keir Starmer’s pragmatic approach to handling President Trump is the right one
Share:
Editorial: The prime minister should resist pressure from those urging him to ‘stand up’ to Trump. There is little for the UK to gain by pillorying the 47th US president. For the past two years, national leaders, their officials and experts around the globe have tried to work out what the second coming of Donald Trump would mean for them and the world. Predicting what the unpredictable US president would do defeated their best efforts.
They have now – finally – got some answers, as the only convicted felon to serve in the White House was sworn in as the 47th US president to complete his astonishing comeback. His inaugural address in the US Capitol rotunda displayed a 78-year-old in a hurry. Although even his domestic critics acknowledge his mandate after last November’s election, his majority in the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate might disappear in midterm elections in November 2026.
The president immediately deployed his power to act without congressional approval, by announcing some of the executive orders he will sign. He declared a border emergency, directed US troops to assist with US-Mexico border security and designated Mexico’s drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations”.
He announced a national energy emergency to fulfil his pledge to “drill baby, drill” for oil and gas. “An external revenue service” would raise “massive amounts of money” to collect tariffs, duties and revenues, which will send shivers around the world – though there was no detail.
