Charles III was not in the oval office on Thursday afternoon. However, his imposing presence forced a meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Kiel Starmer. I felt this was not more like a massive showdown against Ukraine than a courtesy call between the two Renaissance royal courts.
From the moment Hoshi pulled an embossed letter from his chest pocket and handed it over to Trump, the highly anticipated encounter between these two leaders relaxed to something more friendly, with the president invited from the king to visit Britain.
“A beautiful man, a great man,” Trump said after staring at a two-page letter signed to “Charles R” with bold, oversized hands, unlike the president signing dozens of executive orders.
I fell for Hoshi to explain the diplomatic novelty represented by the invitation. Trump is the first modern-day elected leader to be honored for his visits to the UK by two states. “It's really special,” Stage told the gathered press squad. “This has never happened before.”
The Prime Minister may have added. The elected British leaders never developed a monarchy so transparently to acquire the benefits of another head of state.
Starmer is well aware of Trump's charms for the royal family. The president saw his final state visit in 2019, during which Queen Elizabeth II threw him a gorgeous banquet at Buckingham Palace. Trump recently decided to mention himself in royal terms: “The King's Long Live!” he posted on social media after moving to kill New York City's busy pricing program.
On the brink of an era split between Britain and other Europe, the star calculated that little royal stardust might fill the gap, or at least painted it on paper.
In a few numbers, he seemed to have succeeded.
Trump gave Sterner a bit of comfort to his biggest question. The US offers a “backstop” to British and European troops that can maintain peace after a Trump-mediated reconciliation between Ukraine and Russia. However, he has won approval for Trump's contract to renounce British sovereignty over strategically important islands in the Indian Ocean. And he got a welcome indication that the UK might crumpled from American tariffs.
Back in his hometown, Starge won praise, even from the normally hostile right-wing press. “What an unlikely bromance!” said the Daily Mail. “Special delivery,” the Sun said on a photo of Trump showing off his invitation from Charles. “Kiel's trump card,” said the more reliable Daily Mirror.
Given all the ways in which the meeting could have been wrong, Mr. Stage returned to London with a tidy political victory. Trump's clear approval of his contract to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in return for his right to continue running British-American military bases is taken away from major topics on the opposition Conservatives, the wild right-wing Nigel Farage and Starmer's Labour government.
Starmer also gained credibility from Trump for alleging his lawsuit over why the UK should avoid tariffs that Trump believes are ready to impose on the European Union. The president said he hopes that Britain and the US will attack trade contracts that make tariffs unnecessary.
“He was working hard, I'll tell you that,” Trump said after Starmer lobbyed him with a lunch of salads, grilled baths and chocolate caramel cakes. “He made whatever hell they paid him there.”
Yet, in the most important item on Hoshi's agenda, the Prime Minister made little progress. Trump has sidelined questions about whether the US would provide security assurances to Ukraine to prevent Russian President Putin from launching another invasion. Trump insisted that Putin “keep his words up” if a peace deal is reached.
The presence of Ukrainian American workers is likely there to be to extract rare earth minerals that Ukrainian President Volodymie Zelensky agreed to share with the United States.
Trump asked whether he would come to help the British troops, whether they were targeted by Ukraine's Russia. “I've always discovered about the British. They don't need much help,” he said. “They can see very well in their own care,” he then added, “If they need help, I'll always be with the British, right?”
That didn't meet Starmer's wish for an iron-covered American security guarantee. But like French President Emmanuel Macron, who met Trump on Monday, Stage has decided to avoid public division with the president on the issue. He praised Trump for his peace measurement efforts, adding that “rewarding invaders or encouraging a regime like Iran is not peace.”
Refreshing from announcing a groundbreaking increase in military spending in London, he will play the host on Sunday and compete in a meeting of 18 leaders discussing Ukraine. He is no longer defined by his failure to jump over Britain's poor economy.
“The first few months of the labor government were disrupting a lot of people,” said Stephen Fielding, a political historian at the University of Nottingham. “In a way, this gave him the identity of a patriotic leader who supports Ukraine and willing to stand up to Trump and Putin.”
Still, in the White House, Starmer was so recruited that he sometimes seemed less of a world leader than the messenger he was viewed. When asked by a reporter what the Canadian King did with Trump's desire to Canada, the ritual head of state, Starmer replied, “I think you're trying to find a nonexistent gap between us.”
“That's enough, thank you,” said the obviously frustrated Trump.
Previously, in the oval office, Mr. Stage faithfully played the role of the king's courtier. It was a strange incident for the Labour leader who once told filmmakers that they “were often used to propose abolishing the monarchy.” He has long been youthful and indiscreetly denying such a statement, and has also the Order of Knights awarded by Charles.
After retrieving a letter from Trump, Ir Kiel said the president's last visit to the state was a “risqué success” and that “the king wants to make this even better than that.” So this is really historic. ”
“What I don't have yet is your answer,” Stage added, chuckling worriedly as he sat in the chair next to the president.
“The answer is yes,” Trump replied, pulling out as he headed out into the forest of cameras and microphones. “On behalf of Melania and me, our amazing first lady, the answer is yes.”
