Trump and Starmer’s rocky relationship defined as PM lastly falls on his sword

Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have had a bumpy relationship since the US President returned to the White House in 2025. There have been flare-ups over Iran, energy and immigration

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Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump initially appeared to have forged a respectful – if unlikely – friendship when the US President returned to the White House in January 2025.

But, a year later, the first flush “bromance” was over with the pair publicly at loggerheads over the Iran conflict, with Sir Keir taking an increasingly emboldened stand against Washington in the face of repeated White House barbs.

While transatlantic ties faced strains from the start, with several high-profile Labour figures having previously been strongly critical of Mr Trump, Sir Keir sought to pursue a conciliatory approach and initially even drew praise for his deft handling of him

This was to be tested from the outset with Mr Trump moving to impose tariffs on imported goods and renewing his criticism of the Nato military alliance. In response, Sir Keir committed to increase UK defence funding by cutting overseas aid.

He also sought to smooth relations on his first meeting with Mr Trump at the White House by presenting him with a handwritten note from the King inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit to the UK.

But the president made it clear early on his administration would be taking a different direction to Britain and other traditional allies, shaking up the international order. Shortly after Mr Trump took office, the US joined with Russia, North Korea and Iran at the United Nations in New York to vote against a European-backed resolution which condemned Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine and demanded an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the country.

He also branded Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator”, suggested Kyiv had started the war and ended Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic isolation by the US. It culminated in an Oval Office clash.

In the wake of the row, Sir Keir moved to bring together mainly European leaders with the aim of establishing a peacekeeping force aimed at deterring Russia in the event an end to the Ukraine war was agreed. The so-called “Coalition of the Willing” signalled a shift away from overreliance on the US.

The President was also not afraid of intervening on UK domestic issues, including on energy policy. He urged him repeatedly to further exploit the “great asset” of North Sea oil and to “drill baby drill”. Sir Keir’s Government previously ruled out new oil and gas licences.

Mr Trump has long voiced his opposition to wind turbines, particularly those offshore, witnessed by his unsuccessful legal battle with the Scottish Government to stop a development visible from his Aberdeenshire golf course. It saw him accuse Sir Keir of “windmilling the country to death”.

Highlighting his own record in securing the borders in the US, the President also suggested Sir Keir should use the military to tackle the small boats crisis and warned illegal migration could “destroy” countries. He branded Britain’s immigration policies “insane” and claimed the country was being “invaded”. Mr Trump also waded into the row over Peter Mandelson and his appointment as US ambassador, branding it “a really bad pick”.

Despite the often bumpy ride, Sir Keir was successful in securing a trade deal last year with him, although in the light of international developments, the President hinted it could be changed. And Mr Trump’s state visit to the UK in September provided a “diplomatic honeymoon”, while the nuclear submarine deal between the UK, US and Australia, known as Aukus, survived a formal, in-depth review by the Pentagon.

Officials have also been at pains to point out that co-operation has continued as normal between the two countries, from economic issues through to defence. However, the start of the year brought fresh frictions with the president renewing his threat to seize Greenland from Nato partner Denmark. Tensions were further fuelled when Mr Trump suggested Nato allied troops “stayed a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan. Sir Keir condemned his remarks about British troops in Afghanistan as “insulting and frankly appalling”.

Relations between the two leaders soured further over the Iran conflict, with Sir Keir refusing to give the US free rein in its use of British military bases to conduct the bombing campaign. Limited permission was subsequently granted for defensive actions against Iran’s missile sites and installations threatening the Strait of Hormuz, but only after Tehran launched retaliatory strikes. It led Mr Trump to repeatedly criticise him, branding him weak, indecisive and “no Winston Churchill”.

The White House signalled it could review its position on the UK’s claim to the Falkland Islands as punishment, while at the same time Mr Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms.

Tensions continued amid the ensuing stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington berating the response of UK and other allies to the Gulf crisis, insisting other nations needed the strategic waterway more than the US.

Transatlantic strains appeared to govern the president’s constant flip-flopping over support for the British handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which would have seen a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia leased back. Mr Trump had at different times both backed the move and opposed it but latterly, with relations at a low ebb over Iran, hardened his stance against the deal, leading to it being shelved.

The King’s state visit to the US, which had faced calls to be cancelled, won over the “instinctively Anglophile” president, leading to the removal of tariffs on Scotch whisky.

But the warmth between the two heads of state also served to underline the cooler relations between the White House and Downing Street. A social media ban for under-16s, announced by Sir Keir after the pro-tech White House warned against such a move, also posed a further potential flashpoint in relations.

At last week’s G7 summit, Mr Trump made a parting salvo at the Prime Minister for refusing to be drawn into the Iran conflict. And even as Sir Keir mulled his political future at the weekend, Mr Trump declared the PM would resign and again accused him of having “failed badly” with his immigration and energy stance, while wishing him well.