For a year, Keir Starmer has walked a tightrope with Donald Trump, through diplomacy, flattery and a bit of Royal stardust – but this strategy is being tested to breaking point
Anyone hoping for a Love Actually moment, where a UK PM socks it to a sleazy American leader, will have been disappointed today.
But Keir Starmer was clear in Downing Street press conference that firing off angry retorts to Donald Trump serves no purpose. For a year, the PM has been walking a tightrope with the US President, through careful diplomacy, flattery and a bit of Royal stardust.
This strategy has been tested to breaking point since the start of the year. Starmer kept quiet on Trump’s raid on Venezuela but the US President’s ambitions to take Greenland are impossible to ignore, especially the threat of tariffs to clobber British businesses.
The PM looked as grave as I have ever seen him as he warned Trump that Greenland was not up for grabs and said threatening allies with tariffs was a mistake.
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He made it clear that the UK is not looking to start a trade war, and played down the idea of slapping retaliatory tariffs on the US. No10 insiders say privately that there will be a diplomatic push to get Trump to drop the idea – but nothing is off the table.
Starmer had wanted to spend the start of the year hammering home the work the Government is doing to drive down the cost of living. Instead he was forced into a hastily arranged press conference to respond to tariff threats that have major ramifications for the UK economy.
The PM has built an unexpectedly close relationship with Trump, which he’ll try to use in the coming days to get him to change course.
It appears that the US President interpreted a small European reconnaissance mission to Greenland at the weekend as a threat. Starmer told journalists that he raised this during their phone call on Sunday, to explain it was an attempt to show Europe hears the US on the need to take security in the Arctic seriously.
For now, the PM is urging calm while a diplomatic blitz takes place. Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper were both on the front row of his speech in a show of unity at the top of Government.
Starmer also took a moment to thank Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for her support – and took a swipe at unnamed politicians firing off hot takes on social media.
Nigel Farage, who was criticised for weak response at the weekend, issued a rare critical statement, saying issuing economic threats against an ally was wrong.
Trump spouts a lot of hot air. But he has been talking about Greenland since his first presidency. The PM and other leaders will have to take him at his word.