“Relieved is an understatement”.
This is how one senior government figure described their mood as the prime minister, his foreign minister and number 10 team left the White House with Sir Keir and President Trump’s personal relationship; ensured a commitment to NATO; The prospect of a trade agreement that can save the UK of rates and the presidential nod on the Chagos agreement.
It gives you a sense of how much was at stake with a president who has had criticism of many old allies over the past few weeks.
That the Starmer Trump meeting went as well as it did is proof, say those around the prime minister, of how much leg work and careful planning did.
The work started in opposition with Keir Starmer called President Trump after the assassination attempt, while his foreign secretary vice president JD Vance.
There was the dinner in Trump Tower in September, and since then a prime minister has swung any personal or public criticism of the president.
When the visit was confirmed, the number 10 team said all the possibilities with the prime minister, in my opinion, by going all the details and planning with assistant lenders to ‘make the best out of the visit’.
They felt that all the pieces were in place with victories for the UK on trade and a ‘special’ Keir Starmer who came up with President Trump through conversations that you could have a positive relationship with President Trump.
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‘I have a warm place for the UK’
There were a few factors that helped the prime minister.
The first was the president’s true love for the UK and Sir Keir’s team’s understanding that President Trump is driven by personal relationships.
Get it right and a lot of the rest falls in place, say those who saw him nearby.
Sir Keir Starmer, the ominous lawyer, told me that I also built a real warm relationship with President Trump: ‘They really like each other and find each other easy to talk to’ is how one observer put it.
Then came the deployment of soft power.
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A panel of Sky reporters dissect the transatlantic meeting.
I was in the Oval Office when the prime minister obtained a personal letter from his jacket bag from the king and invited President Trump for a second state visit.
Mr. Trump was really delighted when he read the letter, marveled at King Charles’s signature and pointed out that it was the first time in history that someone got such an “incredible” honor.
The prime minister also brought something to the table for a president who loves an agreement.
The decision to raise the spending of defense to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, along with Republicans, dropped very well on Capitol Hill and indicated to President Trump that the UK was an ally in mind that his message was about defensive spending.
There were also victories.
Keir Starmer’s agreement to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, where the US has a critical military base, was supported by President Trump, a very welcome moment for a prime minister who has been greatly criticized for the agreement at home.
And when I asked the president about his sharp remarks about EU tariffs – he said the trade union was built to “screw” the US on the trade – he told me that he had trouble with the EU -bit, was a ‘very different place’ with the United Kingdom.
“I have a wonderful warm place for your country,” President Trump told me before the talks.
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An ‘intense session’ but ‘fairly good outing’
He then told reporters at the press conference in the eastern wing of the White House that there was a ‘very good chance’ for a trade agreement in which rates were not needed.
Of course, there is a long way to go, but against a background of a president who threatens rates on a number of countries, it was a big victory for the prime minister.
But when it comes from this short visit, a story of trade was a focus on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Sir Keir said that the acquisition of a backup for European peacekeepers in Ukraine is the only way to contain President Putin.
Read more:
Starmer contradicts vance about free speech -is
Read some of Trump’s letter from King Charles
Top Five Moments of Trump-Carmer Persian Conference
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‘What a beautiful accent’
On this, President Trump was quite more improper, and emphasized that the priority was to do the agreement first and that the mineral agreement he wanted to sign with President Zelenskyy on Friday should deter enough.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister offers 18 leaders in London to discuss what to do next.
Eventually, Europe will need to know that the US has its back on Ukraine – the prime minister has not got away from the Trump meeting still assured.
However, the message for more NATO investment has been heard loud and clearly, with the expectation of the British camp that more commitment to defense spending from Europe will be required by President Trump as part of any back top agreement.
What is clear to get out of this meeting is that Sir Keir and the United Kingdom can really become the US -Europe’s bridge, as the weakened relationship between Brussels and Washington Sir Keir gives the opportunity to take the center.
After a bumpy start of his premiership, the prime minister found in his effort on Ukraine, a way to show leadership – and perhaps a way to win back dubious voters.
He managed to find a way with President Trump. Sunday’s summit is his next test, as he brings President Zelenskyy together with fellow European leaders to try to pull out a plan to support any peace agreement.
Starmer was an unlikely war leader.
But he finds a way.
