The Prime Minister and his team will be pleased with how his first meeting with Donald Trump played out, despite being fraught with risk.
Burnham appeared to navigate the minefield of tensions, including the Falklands, Ukraine and immigration, in his closed-doors meeting with the US President.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Trump said Burnham was a “natural businessman” – high praise in his book – when asked if he was a man he could do business with.
Trump didn’t bite on a question about the UK’s decision to slap trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which could have been a serious point of tension. But he did return to his criticism of the “terrible deal” to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which Burnham said he was looking at.
Trump couldn’t resist a swipe at Keir Starmer, saying the relationship was “more up” than down under Burnham. His resentment stems from a bitter grudge against the last PM for refusing to let the US use British bases to bomb Iran.
But he said things were on the up under Prime Minister “Andy”. In all, the meeting can definitely be chalked up to a win for Burnham.
He avoided one of Trump’s televised drive-bys, and the US President’s outburst on the Chagos islands was predictable.
It wasn’t as chummy as Starmer’s first meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, which turned into a love-in once the-then PM handed over an invitation for a second state visit. But that early bonhomie didn’t stop Trump from turning on Starmer once he refused to do what he wanted.
Burnham looked slightly uncomfortable at times but he also decided to gently mock Trump for calling Manchester “some town” – a braver move than it might appear.
The pair have started to build a rapport, which is the only way to deal with Trump. But it’s not clear yet whether Burnham was able to get any tangible wins from the meeting.
His big push on AI safety is going nowhere with Trump, and efforts to get more air defence support for Ukraine are yet to bear fruit. Then there’s the disastrous Iran war that is putting an economic squeeze on the PM’s plans – but Trump has so far failed to extract his country from.
The US President appeared to draw a line under his battles with Starmer – and to suggest things between the UK and the US are on the up.
So the question is whether Burnham can turn good vibes into real action.