Trump has left Starmer with no choice – it’s time to get tough
T.Today marked a significant change in Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to relations with Donald Trump.
After months of trying to curry favor with the most capricious and unpredictable of US presidents with sycophantic tributes and garland offers to a man who has torn up the international rule book, Sir Keir appears to have finally had enough.
There is no doubt that his answers to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch during Prime Minister’s Questions represented a new tone and was the first time Sir Keir was openly hostile to the man in the White House.
His “I will not bow” pledge in Greenland was evidence of the kind of toughness and backbone that many backbenchers of the Labor Party expect from their leaders.
But Sir Keir went much further than that. We’ve caught the first real look at the Prime Minister’s “Mr Angry face”; because he accused Trump of trying to blackmail him into backing down on the Greenland issue by using Chagos.
It is useful to review these words once again:
“President Trump used different words about Chagos yesterday than the previous words of welcome and support he said when I met him at the White House,” he said.
“Yesterday he used these words to pressure me and Britain about my values and principles for the future of Greenland.”
The Prime Minister repeated: “He wants me to give up my position and I will not do that.”
It not only accuses Trump of being dishonest and indecisive, but also echoes French President Emmanuel Macron’s claim that the US president is a bully trying to outmaneuver his friends to get his way.
It was a remarkable change of tone, especially when we consider that the Prime Minister’s message during Monday’s emergency conference was much more measured and attempted to walk a diplomatic tightrope.
However, it is quite possible that Trump’s latest statements have convinced Sir Keir that there is no need to soften his language any longer. In a way, the US president left the Prime Minister no choice.
In the past 24 hours, Trump has called the Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius “stupid” and told reporters Starmer should “fix his country”.
His rambling press conference in Davos saw the president belittle Britain’s “disastrous” energy policy, promote wind farms and halt drilling.
The US president abandoned diplomatic niceties in favor of open disrespect.
The cordial agreement forged between Trump and Starmer over a private dinner at New York’s Trump Tower in late 2023 has evaporated.
But the problem for the prime minister is that while this has freed him up to be tougher, it has also all but destroyed his core foreign policy of being a bridge between the US and Europe.
Without this, both England’s and Starmer’s personal role is greatly diminished. Perhaps Trump is now considering helping his friend and ally Nigel Farage fill that void.
