by John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with
In public, in front of the press, the plan of President Donald Trump on Thursday was to give British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer short shrift. Starmer made it shorter.
TRUMP: “You’ve been terrific in our discussions. You are a very tough negotiator, however, and I’m not sure I like that, but that’s okay.”
STARMER: “Heh, heh, heh.”
Trump’s “attitude toward the Russian leader could hardly be more different from the British leader sitting inches away in the Oval Office,” reported the New York Times.
12:20 at the White House, West Wing portico entrance – Prime Minister Starmer was running late: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22aD1erDlFkPresident Trump arrives at the front door at 12:33. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22aD1erDlFk
12:34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22aD1erDlFk
Trump was at the White House door to receive Starmer at 12:34. That was nineteen minutes later than the time announced on the President’s schedule for the day. Fifteen minutes were then assigned at the Oval Office before the two men and their officials went to lunch a few steps away in the Cabinet Room. At 2 pm, ninety minutes later, a press conference was scheduled in the East Room.
The published schedule of Trump’s time for talks with Starmer was a fraction of the time which Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spent together on Monday. At the Oval Office Macron and Trump had answered press questions for 28 minutes. They then went into their luncheon meeting, and returned for a press conference in the East Room lasting 43 minutes.
By contrast, Trump and Starmer gave the press a 20-minute opportunity in the Oval Office to ask questions. This had not been scheduled in advance. The US television networks and the BBC were all taken unawares. It was the German state organ Deutsche Welle which broadcast the impromptu Oval Office session.
Trump took almost all the press questions, and invited Vice President J.D. Vance to respond also. Trump repeated the same slogans on the Ukraine war and the minerals agreement to be signed with Ukraine which he has announced before.
He allowed Starmer a few seconds to express himself.* Starmer called the special relationship with the US “the greatest alliance the world has ever seen.”
Asked to clarify what that meant, Trump said: “He [Starmer] loves his country and so do I, and that’s our common, ahhh, our common theme. He loves his country, and I love our country…we’ve had a longtime relationship, a long time, hundreds of years, and we like each other, and frankly, we like each other’s country, and we love our country. I think that’s our common thread.”
Trump added the US has three friends who are equal in his estimation – the UK, France, and Australia.
Asked what he anticipates for an end-of-war agreement with Russia, Trump said: “I have confidence if we make a deal, it’s going to hold.” Starmer added a compliment for Trump: “The deal if we get it is going to be hugely important. I don’t think it would have happened if the space hadn’t been created for it by yourself. But if there is a deal in, we’ve got to make sure it’s a deal that lasts… We need to make sure it’s secure and we’ve leant in and said we’ll play our part, and we’ve talked, and we’ll talk about how we will work with yourself Mr President to ensure this deal is not violated.”
“That will be the easy part”, Trump added.
On the terms to be negotiated for that “deal”, Trump repeated his past vagueness, including the notion that the Kiev regime may recover the territories it has lost since 2014. “They fought long and hard on the land, and you [Starmer] and I will be discussing that and we’re certainly going to try to get as much [land] as we can back… We’ll be seeing about that.”
Trump also repeated his vagueness on what forces — American, French, British or others — might be engaged to secure an end-of-war agreement in the Ukraine. “We’re doing the deal, and we’re going to be in there, actually in there, digging, digging our hearts out,” Trump said, referring to the minerals agreement with Ukraine which Vladimir Zelensky is expected to sign with Trump on Friday. “”He’s coming,” Trump added. “Perhaps he’s already on the way. And we are going to be signing the deal together, probably in front of the media… We want to work with him, President Zelesnky, and we will work with him.” Asked to remember his calling Zelensky a dictator, Trump replied: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.”
Pressed by a reporter to say whether he means US forces would participate in a peacekeeping force as a “backstop” to an agreement, Trump said “Well, there is a backstop. First you are going to have European countries because they are right there. We are far away. We have an ocean between us. But we want to make sure it works, so when you say backstop, do you mean backstop psychologically or militarily or what? But we are a backstop because we are over there. We’ll be working in the country… I just don’t think you are going to have a problem.”
On Prime Minister Starmer’s right, David Lammy, Foreign Secretary. On President Trump’s left, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W8D0t7_9IA A verbatim transcript of the session was published later here.
“If British troops are in Ukraine keeping the peace and get attacked by Russia,” asked a reporter, “will you come to their aid?
“The British don’t need much help”, Trump replied. “They can take care of themselves very well… You know, the British have been incredible soldiers, incredible military, and they can take care of themselves. If they need help, I’ll always be with the British. Okay? Okay, I’ll always be with them. But they don’t need help.”
Trump then offered to hold hands with Starmer. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W8D0t7_9IA
It is unreported by the US and British media why the scheduled press conference in the East Room was delayed for almost an hour and a half. Part of the time was spent by the American and British staff in the delegations trying to minimize the differences which had emerged during the lunch talks and then between Trump’s and Starmer’s scripts for their public remarks. The British needed time also to get the Americans to agree to his promoting the superiority of the UK over France and other US allies in the present war.
“We remain each other’s first partner in defence, ready to come to each other’s aid, to counter threats, wherever and whenever they may arise,” Starmer read out of pages curling from the hand-written corrections which had been made and re-made. Earlier in the Oval Office, Trump had said the UK was no more of a “friend” than France and Australia.
The Financial Times and BBC tried to strike the positive note that Starmer had sought and possibly succeeded in getting bilateral trade relief from Trump’s threatened tariffs than against the Europeans. According to the FT lead, “Trump says US is working on trade deal with the UK.US President suggested that Britain could escape tariffs if agreement struck.” “’He was working hard,’ the BBC quoted Trump as saying.’ He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there.’ The president says he is receptive to Starmer’s arguments, and says that he thinks we can arrive at a trade deal where tariffs won’t be necessary.”
In fact, Trump was non-committal. “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.”
Trump allowed Starmer a 32-minute presser; this was a quarter fraction less than Macron had enjoyed. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJSaNSSj_4c
Click on the verbatim transcript reported by RollCall here.
On the particulars of an end-of-war settlement, Trump claimed his priority at the moment is a ceasefire. “As I discussed with Prime Minister Starmer, the next step we’re making is toward a very achievable ceasefire. We hope that can happen quickly.” “This will lay the groundwork for a longterm peace agreement that will return stability to Eastern Europe.”
Starmer’s priority was different – he wants to keep warfighting with Russia.
Starmer was emphatic that the peace agreement “can’t be terms that reward the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran.” According to the Prime Minister, “we discussed a plan today to reach a peace that is tough and fair; that Ukraine will help shape; that is backed by strength to stop Putin coming back for more.”
Explicitly, Starmer went on, this means “the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal.” After reciting claims the UK will be boosting its military aid to the Ukraine, and increasing its own defence spending – “the biggest since the Cold War” – Starmer announced: “What counts is winning. If you don’t win, you don’t deliver.”
Neither Trump nor Starmer claimed they have agreed on any end-of-war terms. “Our teams will be talking about that,” Starmer said. A British television reporter pressed him to say “whether you can do that without a firm assurance that America will have our back in the form of some kind of security guarantee, were Putin to breach that agreement?” Starmer repeated himself without details. “Our teams will be talking about that.”
Starmer insisted on striking a final threatening tone which was not in the script on his lectern. “It’s really important that Putin knows that this historic deal – which I very much hope comes about – is there, is there, and it’s a lasting deal, and that we are able to deal with any inclination he has to go again, or go further.”
Starmer meant he is hoping to continue the British war against Russia.
The London newspapers editorialized in favour of that, and against Trump. “Conventional platitudes about a ‘special relationship’ and common values are of little use to Sir Keir Starmer in handling Donald Trump,” declared the Guardian. “History is not irrelevant, but on matters of substance – most urgently, a settlement to end the war in Ukraine – Mr Trump is behaving more like a mafia boss than a statesman. His method is to demand tribute in exchange for protection.”
“Sir Keir Starmer will enter the Oval Office on Thursday walking a delicate tightrope,” the Telegraph acknowledged. “The Prime Minister cannot be seen to simply bend the knee to Donald Trump, but nor can he afford to anger the leader of the world’s largest economy at a time when Britain’s economy is on the brink of recession.”
Starmer also revealed that in exchange for warfighting support and trade relief from Trump, he is prepared to betray Canada, constitutionally a dominion under the British monarch, King Charles III, by letting Trump take over Canada as the 51st US state.
When a Canadian reporter asked Starmer whether he had discussed with Trump his threat “to remove one of [King Charles III’s] realms from his control”, Starmer criticized the Canadian for asking the question. “You mentioned Canada. I think you are trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t, ummm, exist. We are the closest of nations, and we had very good discussions today. [Lowering his voice] but we didn’t discuss Canada.” Minute 18:54.
“That’s enough,” Trump cut off the reporter trying to follow up.
NOTE: Prime Minister Starmer’s hatred of Russia as British ideology was last on public display during the Crimean War of 1853-56. The lead images are from an animation of the British mentality in that conflict.
[*] The transcript of the Oval Office session records that Starmer spoke for a total of 220 seconds; this amounted to just 12% of the total time taken.
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