28 July 2025, 18:14
Donald Trump is in Scotland to visit his golf courses.
Picture:
Getty
There is just no guessing what Donald Trump will say at any given time.
His visit to his Turnberry golf course has proved that once again.
Which is why, for the Prime Minister, meetings with the President are a high wire act; how to keep on his good side but still talk hard truths on the matters where you want to change his mind.
Starmer has already proved he can do it by negotiating the UK-US trade deal.
Today those finely-tuned diplomatic skills were put to use again.
The President and the Prime Minister discussed matters of huge importance – how to ease the pain of those starving and suffering in Gaza, how to get Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire, how to end the war in Ukraine.
And it appeared that Keir Starmer had persuaded the President to speak more strongly about the scenes from Gaza – “we need to feed the people… you can’t fake that” he said.
Trump also made it clear he is at the end of his tether with Vladimir Putin, with his 50-day end the war tariff deadline being brought forward to either 10 or 12, though he hadn’t quite decided.Yet at the press conference answering those questions seemed the easy part, with the two men broadly on the same page.
It was on others, when the President veered off, somewhat randomly, into long-winded, verbose ponderings, or his answers seemed couched to get under Keir Starmer’s skin, that the Prime Minister’s “Trump whispering” had to be put to use.
For one, Trump took it upon himself to talk up his “friend” Nigel Farage when asked if Parliament should be recalled as the Reform leader has suggested, when the President has his second state visit in September.
The Prime Minister looked impassively on, as the President riffed “I like Nigel he’s done very well, he’s a friend of mine…” before quickly adding “Sir Keir is also a friend of mine.”
The PM immediately jumped in to talk about the unprecedented nature of the second state visit and its “historic nature”. He had Trump nodding along – and Farage was forgotten.
There was also an unexpected pop at Sadiq Khan, which forced Starmer into a defence of the mayor of London.
The President’s rant came as he was asked if he’d visit London when his state visit takes place: “I will. I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job, the mayor of London, a nasty person.”
Sir Keir gently interjected saying “he’s a friend of mine actually” in a chuckling attempt to defuse the situation. It seemed to work… to a degree, in that the issue was dropped.
And again when there was a question about the Open coming to Turnberry, the President looked intently at Starmer as he said that wasn’t in his gift – unlike the state visit – quickly changing the subject to praise the Lionesses Euro victory.
And we know Trump likes winners.
But it was all off script and off the cuff, and proved again if President Trump takes against you it’s s pretty near impossible to change his mind.
No wonder Starmer is keen that does not happen to him.
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