Starmer is much too weak to name out Trump’s vile betrayal of Ukraine. The President treats him like his butler: STEPHEN GLOVER

Why do many people on the Right of British politics persist in regarding Donald Trump as a hero?

I think it’s largely because he infuriates the woke Left so effectively. His admirers are consequently prepared to overlook his boastfulness, bullying and authoritarian tendencies.

Most of them won’t criticise the US President over his tariffs which, although less injurious to Britain than to many other countries, will still damage us, besides weakening the global economy.

Will his cheerleaders on the Right finally wake up to the dangers Trump poses to our security, as he tries to inflict swingeing peace terms on Ukraine that could have been dreamt up in the Kremlin – which is exactly what some US senators have alleged?

Huge swathes of Ukraine would be handed over to Russia, which would be welcomed back into the G7 group of nations while sanctions were lifted. Ukraine would be required to cut its armed forces and accept that there would be no Western troops on its territory to keep the peace. It wouldn’t be allowed to join Nato.

Trump’s 28-point plan amounts to a grotesque betrayal of Ukraine, whose government has preposterously been given only until Thursday to sign up. Volodymyr Zelensky is unlikely to accept this poison pill if he wants to remain president.

Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer at the Gaza peace summit last month

But Ukraine isn’t the only victim of Trump’s browbeating. After his high-handed attempt to impose a pro-Russian settlement, European countries can have no confidence in the reliability of Trumpian America as the leader of the Western alliance.

Even while insisting that Europe should take greater responsibility for its own security, Trump entered negotiations with Russia over Ukraine without taking any account of European concerns.

Only yesterday were EU and British officials finally allowed to have their say in a meeting in Geneva, which was described as ‘productive and even conclusive in some areas’ by a US official.

Admittedly, the President said on Saturday that his 28-point plan isn’t his ‘final offer’. It may be watered down but, even if that happens, we have once more seen into his dark heart. He is in thrall to the brutal warmonger Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president would of course be strengthened by the kind of peace settlement Trump has in mind. He would be able to rebuild his weakened armed forces, and plan his next move to destabilise Europe. An attack on Lithuania? Or Finland? Or even Poland?

Putin has long been flexing his muscles closer to our shores. A Russian spy ship recently tried to blind RAF pilots with military-grade lasers in what Defence Secretary John Healey last week described as a ‘deeply dangerous’ provocation.

Yantar, a vessel suspected of mapping and sabotaging vital undersea cables, was being tracked off the Scottish coast after spending six days in British waters. This attack on our pilots was virtually an act of war.

To return to Donald Trump: it’s no use saying he is an aberration and that, once he has gone, good sense will be restored. He could be succeeded by JD Vance, the hardline ideologue worshipped by a few misguided British conservative intellectuals, who is fond of lecturing Europeans about their shortcomings.

No, America has almost certainly changed for good. Uncle Sam is no longer the benevolent protector of our continent, even though in the shape of Donald Trump he still thinks he has the right to shape its future.

But is Europe able to defend itself? Hardly. Despite Nato countries recently unanimously agreeing to spend 3.5 per cent of their annual economic output on defence by 2035 (actually 5 per cent, once such items as civilian infrastructure are taken into account), there’s no prospect of this happening any time soon.

Germany is supposed to be in the lead in rearming. Yet its defence minister, Boris Pistorius, recently conceded that his country’s defence spending will only be fractionally over 3 per cent by the end of this decade.

Despite a lot of big talk from Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s defence expenditure is planned to increase only to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027, with a vague ambition to reach 3 per cent at some point in the next parliament.

France, which is spending less than the UK on defence despite much grandiose talk from President Emmanuel Macron, hasn’t set out a timetable for fulfilling its obligations. It is still far from reaching even 2.5 per cent of GDP. Italy and Spain lag far behind.

The Baltic states are doing much better, though their economies are so tiny that they are unable to contribute much to European defence. The only really impressive country is Poland, which has a sizeable economy. It has already surpassed 4 per cent of GDP and seems certain to reach 5 per cent by 2035.

All in all, though, Europe is falling far short of the inflated political rhetoric and public commitments of its leaders. Its dependence on the United States over many decades is deeply ingrained. It hasn’t properly adjusted to impending American withdrawal.

Russia, by contrast, is estimated to spend about 7 per cent of its GDP on its armed forces, and is increasingly on a war footing. It’s true that its economy is in many respects weak, but those who write off its huge military as ineffective are taking a reckless gamble.

A further reason for doubting the seriousness of European intent is the continuing reliance of many EU countries on Russian gas. We’re not just talking of Hungary, which is friendly to Russia. Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Austria are among the EU countries still importing significant amounts of Russian gas.

Russian vessel Yantar, a specialist reconnaissance ship which carries two unmanned submersible vehicles, was being tracked off the Scottish coast last week after spending six days in British waters

‘Donald Trump is a bully who intends to cut Ukraine loose, appease Putin and jeopardise the security of our continent,’ writes Stephen Glover

The truth is that Europe hasn’t got its act together. If Donald Trump were to stop all military support for Ukraine – as he well might if President Zelensky rejects his 28-point plan – would European nations such as Germany, Britain and France step into the breach? Don’t bet on it.

Their respective leaders love pretending that they are considerable world statesmen – with posturing President Macron usually trying to take the lead – but they are reluctant to make the hard decisions that are necessary if we are to stand up to Russia.

As for our own Sir Keir Starmer, he promises much but delivers little. We’ll discover soon just how useful his much vaunted intimate relationship with Trump really is. The President’s attitude to our Prime Minister is like that of an 18th-century aristocrat towards his butler. Trump is happy as long as he gets what he wants.

Last month, at the Gaza peace summit in Egypt, Trump summoned Starmer as though he was a contestant in a quiz show, and patronisingly cross-examined him. Then, just as the overawed PM thought he was about to be permitted to say a few words, Trump turned his back on him.

What the American President is trying to do to Ukraine is unconscionable. Diplomatic conventions prevent European leaders from saying so openly. If only Starmer had the courage and independence of mind to speak out privately.

Donald Trump is a bully who intends to cut Ukraine loose, appease Putin and jeopardise the security of our continent. It’s still possible that he’ll back off. If he doesn’t, I don’t see Sir Keir Starmer and his European buddies riding to the rescue.