U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain's King Charles III during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 27.CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s unlikely bond with U.S. President Donald Trump deepened on Thursday after the two leaders met in Washington and came away agreeing on almost every topic.
This was Mr. Starmer’s first visit to the White House and there had been questions in London leading up to the meeting about whether he would be able to shield Britain from Mr. Trump’s tariff threats or make any progress on a host of other bilateral issues, as well as the war in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump seemed all too eager to please his guest and handed Mr. Starmer victories on almost every front.
The President spoke glowingly about reaching a trade deal with Britain “very soon.” He suggested that it was likely Britain would be spared the huge tariffs that the U.S. has threatened to impose on Canada, Mexico, the European Union and China. And he largely agreed with Britain’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, something critics in both countries have said could threaten the U.S. military base at Diego Garcia.
“Prime Minister Starmer, you’ve been terrific in our discussions,” Mr. Trump said during a joint news conference after the meeting. “You’re a very tough negotiator, however. I’m not sure I like that, but that’s okay, very, very special person. The Prime Minister and I have gotten off to an outstanding start.”
For his part, Mr. Starmer heaped praise on Mr. Trump for starting peace talks to end the war in Ukraine and he shied away from challenging Mr. Trump’s positive comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin. “You’ve created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace deal, a deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world,” Mr. Starmer said during the news conference.
He also said Britain shared the President’s view that Europe needed to make a stronger commitment to military security. “Mr. President, in this new era, you’re also right that Europe must step up,” he said.
It helped Mr. Starmer that he’d announced this week that Britain will boost its defence spending from 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product to 2.5 per cent by 2027 and to 3 per cent within a decade. He also said the extra funding would come from cuts to foreign aid, mimicking the Trump administration’s gutting of U.S. overseas assistance.
Mr. Trump praised Mr. Starmer’s decision to boost military spending, calling it “a great thing to do for your country.”
Mr. Starmer was also able to dangle a handwritten invitation from King Charles III for a state visit to Britain, which clearly impressed the President. The Prime Minister made a point of noting that this would be the first time anyone had been given two state visits. “This has never happened before. It’s so incredible. It will be historic, and I’m delighted,” he said.
Tariffs and trade had been major concerns for Mr. Starmer. Britain has been eager to point out that the U.S. has reported a trade surplus with the country, and that it should be excluded from Mr. Trump’s punishing tariffs. Mr. Trump largely agreed on Thursday and said that there was a “very good chance that, in the case of these two great, friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary.”
Britain has been keen to strike a trade deal with the U.S. ever since Britain formally left the European Union in 2021, freeing the country to negotiate its own agreements. Little progress had been made but on Thursday, Mr. Trump said: “We’ve had great discussions on trade and I think we’re going to have a deal done rather quickly.”
The Chagos Islands had been considered another potential sore point.
Britain has been facing international pressure for decades to return the islands to Mauritius, which is off the east coast of Africa.
The Mauritius government has long argued that it was coerced into giving up the Chagos Islands in the 1960s when Mauritius was granted independence from Britain. The United Kingdom ordered the entire population of the islands to leave to clear the way for the construction of a U.K.-U.S. military base on one island: Diego Garcia.
Britain and Mauritius struck a deal last October that would see the Chagos Islands handed back. Britain would then lease Diego Garcia for 99 years.
However, the deal had raised concerns among some Republican lawmakers in Washington who worried about the Mauritius government’s close ties to China. The deal was put on hold after Mr. Trump’s election and it had been expected that he would push to cancel it.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump hinted that he would support the agreement. “I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country,” he told Mr. Starmer.