What would a UK-US summit be without a spot of rain? Right on cue, the drizzle swept over Washington as Keir Starmer’s much-anticipated White House visit kicked off on Thursday morning.
With the British press in attendance, the atmosphere in the briefing room was noticeably more well-mannered than usual—a touch more after you than the customary sharp elbows scrambling for the best spot in front of the press line. The British media had come prepared for a long day. With boxes of Jewish bagels—because really, what spells out American culture better than a bagel?
The meeting in the Oval Office started on a high note, with Starmer handing Trump a letter from the King Charles III, inviting him for an “unprecedented” second state visit. Nothing, it seems, can stand in the way of the Royal Family making Trump feel special, setting the mood just right. It is a well-known fact that the president loves the Royals. Watching Trump’s face, it was clear—he was overjoyed. The first president in American history to receive a second state visit. Quite a remarkable thing. Strategically, this played well for Starmer. The charm offensive was working.
At the very start, Trump signaled his willingness to sign off on the Chagos Islands deal.
“I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well,” he said.
He praised the Prime Minister’s wife and turned to Starmer with a compliment.
“I’m very impressed with him and very impressed with his wife. She is a beautiful, great woman.”
“I second that,” Starmer responded.
“You are very lucky,” said Trump.
And they all lived happily ever after. Or at least, for the rest of the afternoon. Could the special relationship get any better?
I was in the room where it happened. The press conference at 2 p.m was well attended, the British delegation taking up the left half of the East Room, the American press—yours truly among them—on the right. Unusually calm. Hands raised, no shouting. Even Trump, composed. The tone of the conference was unexpectedly light, respectful. The big news out of the presser? Trump’s declaration that he was ready to move forward on “great” trade agreements with the UK—and fast.
He praised Starmer as a “tough” negotiator, one who had spent the day trying to convince him to hold back on trade tariffs.
“He tried. He was working hard. I’ll tell you that he earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried,” Trump said.
“I think there’s a very good chance that, in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.”
A post-Brexit trade deal, long elusive under Starmer’s Conservative predecessors, now seemingly within reach under a Labour prime minister. Just a year ago, this would have been unthinkable.
Donald Trump had been positive about a deal back in 2016 too, but it had never materialized. Biden hadn’t wanted to touch it, not with the Northern Ireland backstop in play. Now Trump, once again, would be the kingmaker.
He also softened his stance on Zelenskyy. “I have a lot of respect for the Ukrainian president,” Trump said. “We have given him a lot of equipment and a lot of money, but they have fought very bravely. Somebody has to use that equipment, and they have been very brave in that sense.”
Starmer, standing beside him, spoke in measured terms. A plan, he said, was forming—a peace deal that was “tough and fair,” one Ukraine would help shape, one that would be backed by strength. “To stop Putin coming back for more.”
While Starmer arrived in Washington to push for “security guarantees,” Trump’s idea of a guarantee was something altogether different, wrapped in business terms. The rare earth minerals deal he planned to sign with Zelenskyy tomorrow, that was his backstop.
“We’ll be working there. We’ll have a lot of people working and so, in that sense, it’s very good. It’s a backstop, you could say. I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country,” said Trump.
As for a military backstop, Trump didn’t see the need. He had something better—his instinct, his personal read on Putin.
“I think when we have a deal, it’s going to be the deal,” he said.
“I think he’ll keep his word. I’ve known him for a long time now, and I think he will. I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word. I don’t think he’ll be back when we make a deal. I think the deal is going to hold now.”
A guarantee of a different kind.
On the plane from London to DC on Wednesday night, Keir Starmer had been uneasy. The state of the special relationship was unpredictable. The stakes couldn’t have been higher. Now, 24 hours later, he was leaving the White House, stepping onto the plane that would take him back to England. Even the Conservative members of his press corps could be overheard saying, This was good for Starmer.
David Lammy left the East Room flashing an enthusiastic thumbs-up. UK Ambassador to U.S. Peter Mandelson, asked if the trade deal was really going to happen, simply smiled and nodded his head.
On X, Starmer made it official.
“The bond between the UK and the US couldn’t be stronger.”
“Growth and security are the foundations of my Plan for Change, and the UK-US relationship is integral to delivering them. Together, we will improve working people’s lives in both our nations.”
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy is on his way, heading to DC for his own meeting with Trump at 11 a.m.
And so, in the grand tradition of Anglo-American diplomacy, a happy ending—of sorts—was achieved.
A bromance like no other.
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