In negotiating with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine’s head while humiliating President Zelenskyy, Trump has shown that we can no longer assume that when push comes to shove, US core interests will align with ours.
For the third time since the second world war – after Suez in 1956 and Iraq in 2003 – the United Kingdom is being forced to work out where it stands between the US and Europe.
With energy security crucial to our ability to stand up to Putin as well as cutting the cost of living, there is also mutual interest in working at pace with our neighbours on the renewable energy potential of the North Sea – and to protect crucial undersea cables from sabotage.
Keir Starmer seems to have secured a diplomatic coup, however let’s be clear – the president’s view of us remains hostile.
Trump may have restated his own liking for Brexit, but it has left us outside the room at a time of high peril.
