President Trump Holds Back As Starmer Weathers US State Visit

Since returning from summer recess, Starmer has faced mounting backbench pressure over Downing Street’s handling of the Peter Mandelson scandal. Along with the US ambassador’s departure, the Prime Minister lost his deputy prime minister to a tax scandal and was forced to sack a close aide over sending sexist text messages about Diane Abbott.

Travelling to Chequers on Thursday morning, there were musings as to whether the US President would finally turn on Starmer, a world leader he respects on the premise of being a ‘winner’.

The Buckinghamshire grounds, tightly surveilled and secured by armed guards, were packed with over 100 broadcasters and journalists in a humid gazebo awaiting a potential fallout. The event was moved from the gardens to inside the Great Hall as the weather began to turn – some saw an ominous sign of how the afternoon might proceed.

Prior to moving inside, however, Trump and Starmer stood shoulder to shoulder as they gazed at members of the Red Devils, the British Army's parachute display team, falling from helicopters with the Union Jack and US flag.

Inside Chequers, the Great Hall was divided into two sections – one for US journalists and the other for their British counterparts. As US reporters stood and spoke casually with Marco Rubio, Scott Bessant and Howard Lutnik, UK journalists sat rigidly in their seats waiting for both world leaders to enter the room.

In the magnificent setting – adorned with paintings and tapestries of Oliver Cromwell, Sir Walter Raleigh and Duke of Marlborough – the two leaders began and ended their 40-minute presser with little controversy. Both Trump and Starmer were asked about the war in Gaza, Ukraine, free speech, the economy, illegal immigration and energy.

Trump, as ever, was eager to have the last word on the most awkward of conversations including fracking in the North Sea and illegal migration. The US President did manage to take a swipe at the Labour government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UNGA by the end of September.

Trump told reporters he remains shaken by video footage of October 7, when Hamas members killed 1,200 people and abducted a further 251 people.

“Hamas said that they’re going to put the hostages up as bait, they’re going to put the hostages in front of any attack. And that’s pretty brutal, we haven’t heard that one in a long time. So I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score. One of our few disagreements, actually.”

Yet when the ‘elephant in the room’ was raised over Starmer’s decision to sack Lord Mandelson last week, Trump pretended not to know who he was, deflecting the political hot potato to the Prime Minister.

As expected, Trump also urged Starmer to do whatever it takes to end the Channel crossings, drawing on his experience of cracking down on illegal migration on the US southern border.

The most interesting element of the conference came when both leaders were asked by GB News whether Britain remained a Christian country. Starmer, who is an atheist, told the world’s media he was baptised at his local church and claimed Christianity was still important to him. 

“In terms of a Christian country, I was christened so that is my church, it has been all my life. And [...] that is wired into our informal constitution. Of course we celebrate many other faiths and well and I’m really proud that we’re able to do so as a country.”

The most sombre moment came when both leaders touched on Charlie Kirk, the conservative commentator who was assassinated last week at a university in Utah.

“Can I just express how shocking that is I think to everybody who believes in free speech and in democracy?” Starmer said. “And it sent shockwaves through the world, and I know that he was a friend of the President and I reached out straight away to the president because I understood how impactful it would be on him and his family.”

After the presser, one seasoned hack quipped that journalists were naïve in thinking Trump was ever going to be extraordinarily rude towards Starmer, who effectively treated him like a monarch for two days. 

The US President made a few dubious claims – that that he won the 2020 election, and former President Biden was “not the brightest bulb in the room”. Yet Trump said nothing that displayed huge differences between himself and the UK government, and clearly had no intention of doing so.

Tonight, Starmer and his Downing Street operation may find some reassurance in the fact that the US-UK state visit ended in a whimper and not a bang. 

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