Donald Trump has praised the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, as a “tough negotiator” and welcomed the British government’s decision this week to increase defence spending, labelling it a “great thing to do”.
Speaking in a press conference following private discussions in the White house, Trump immediately referred to the prime minister as a “very, very special person”.
He insisted their relationship had “gotten off to an outstanding start” after a “tremendously productive” meeting.
He called Starmer a “tough” negotiator, joking: “I’m not sure I like that”.
Reflecting on the letter from King Charles III inviting him for a historic second state visit, Trump said it was a “great honour”.
He added: “It’s not for me, it’s for our country. It’s respect for our country. So I just want to thank you. And I want to thank King Charles. And we accept.”
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The US president also revealed he “provided the prime minister with an update on our efforts to end the bloody and horrible” Ukraine war.
He added: “We’re working very hard to get that war brought to an end. I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and I think it’s moving along pretty rapidly.
“The progress toward peace will continue when president [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy visits the White House. They’ll be here tomorrow in the early part of the day and we’ll be signing a historic agreement that will make the United States a major partner in developing Ukraine’s minerals and rare earths, and oil and gases.”
Moving to European defence spending, Trump suggested the war in Ukraine makes the case for “some countries” to invest up to 5 per cent of GDP.
Commenting on the UK government’s plan to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent by 2027 and to 3 per cent in the next parliament, he said the announcement is “a great thing to do.”
Trump said: “I know that they’re raising it. I just read an article, a great article, about the work you’re doing in the UK, as to the military, you’re raising it quite a bit, which is a great thing to do for your country, great thing to do.
“It’s sad that we need that, but [we] probably need that. So congratulations on that. I know you got it through. After years of chronic underfunding there’s an urgent need to catch up for some countries.”
Asked later by a reporter if the prime minister had successfully persuaded him not to put tariffs on the UK, Trump responded: “He tried!”
The US president added: “He [Starmer] earned whatever the hell they pay him over there.
“I think there’s 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. We’ll see…
“Today he was working hard at lunch. And I’m very receptive to it… I think we have a good chance at arriving at a deal that could be terrific, really terrific for both countries.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
