Tea with a side of flattery: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Trump
WASHINGTON - U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived at the White House on Thursday bearing a special envelope for President Donald Trump − a letter from the British King Charles III inviting him to a second state visit.
“It is my pleasure to bring from His Majesty the King a letter,” said Starmer, sitting next to Trump in the Oval Office. “He asked me to bear this letter and bring it to you.”
The president appeared pleased with the royal invitation.
“He’s a great, great gentleman,” said Trump of the U.K monarch, as he accepted the envelope.
But first, he wanted to make sure it was signed by the king.
“I must make sure his signature’s on that, otherwise it's not quite as meaningful,” said Trump as he examined the letter.
“It is. That's quite a signature, isn't it?” he said. “He’s a beautiful man and a wonderful man.”
Tea and diplomacy with a side of flattery
Starmer, who was in town to obtain a crucial commitment from the U.S. to provide a “backstop” or security guarantee in Ukraine to deter Russia from invading again in the event of a ceasefire, did not miss an opportunity to demonstrate his soft diplomacy skills.
Starmer left the White House empty-handed, but not before singing Trump's praises.
Using language that sounded unmistakably Trumpian, Starmer described the invitation as “very special.”
“This is unprecedented,” he said. “I think the last state visit was a tremendous success. His Majesty the King wants to make this even better than that. So this is truly historic and unprecedented.”
Indeed, Trump would be the first elected political leader to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch. Other than Trump during his first term in 2019, Barack Obama and George W. Bush were the only two presidents to be invited to state visits to Britain during late Queen Elizabeth's 70-year reign.
During his 2019 state visit, Trump had tea with Charles, who was then heir to the throne.
Trump accepted the new invitation on the spot.
"The answer is yes," he said. "Our wonderful First Lady, Melania and myself ... we look forward to being there," he said.
Not to be outdone in the flattery department, Trump complimented Starmer on his clipped British accent, said the two got along "famously" and said he was very impressed with Starmer's wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.
"I'm very impressed with him, very impressed with his wife," said Trump. "I must say, she's a beautiful, great woman. And I said, you're very lucky."
No firm American commitment on peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine
Starmer was the second European leader after French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Trump this week in the hopes of securing U. S. security guarantees to stop future aggression from Russia.
The U.K. prime minister announced Sunday that he was willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine war ends.
"We are facing a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent," Starmer wrote in the Telegraph. "This is not only a question about the future of Ukraine – it is existential for Europe as a whole."
But rather than commit to any specific form of American support, Trump chose to focus on a deal to gain U.S. access to Ukrainian minerals that can be used in magnets, batteries, and aircrafts, saying that would indirectly keep the area safe.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who will be in White House on Friday, is expected the sign the deal during the visit.
Trump, who has been negotiating with Russian President Valdimir Putin to end his three-year Russian invasion and occupation of Ukraine − without participation from Ukraine or its European allies, much to their chagrin.
“We'll have a lot of people working there,” Trump said as he held a press meet with Starmer, referring to future U.S. mining in Ukraine. “So in that sense, it’s very good. It's a backstop. I don't think anybody's going to play around if we're there.”
Trump said his team was working very hard to bring the war to an end, and that he’d had back-to-back calls with Putin and Zelenskyy.
“I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and I think it’s moving along pretty rapidly, “said Trump, adding. “It’ll either be fairly soon or it won’t be at all."
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for Paste BN. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal