Donald Trump PRAISES Keir Starmer saying he has done a ‘very good job thus far’ as PM and he expects them to talk within the next 24 hours_Nhy
Donald Trump appeared to try to sooth relations between his administration and Labour today, as he claimed Keir Starmer as done a ‘very good job thus far’ as Prime Minister.
The new US president said he had a ‘very good relationship’ with the PM and hinted he could yet make Britain the destination of his first oversees trip in his second term in the White House.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he planned to speak to Sir Keir in the next 24 hours, after snubbing him for almost a week since taking office.
Sir Keir and other senior Labour ministers have been engaged in a running battle with Elon Musk, the billionaire X owner and a senior ally of the president.
But overnight the president was asked about his own relationship with the prime minister.
‘I’ve met him already three times. He’s come over to see me twice. I have a call. He and I have a call over the next 24 hours,’ he said.
‘Now I get along with him, well, I like him a lot. He’s liberal, which is a little bit different for me, but I think he’s a very good person.
‘I think he’s done a very good job thus far. He’s doing the job… but he’s represented his country in terms of his philosophy.
The new US president said he had a ‘very good relationship’ with the PM and hinted he could yet make Britain the destination of his first oversees trip after returning tot eh White House.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he planned to speak to Sir Keir in the next 24 hours, after snubbing him for almost a week since taking office.
‘I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him. I’ve seen him twice at dinner with him in Trump Tower, as you probably know.’
Sir Keir most recently met with Mr Trump at Trump Tower in New York during the presidential campaign last year.
The pair also spoke on the phone following Mr Trump’s election victory, with Downing Street saying both men agreed the relationship between the UK and the US was ‘incredibly strong’ and would ‘continue to thrive’.
Following Mr Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Foreign Secretary David Lammy indicated Sir Keir would visit Washington within weeks.
Mr Trump’s close ally Elon Musk has heavily criticised Sir Keir in recent weeks as the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX piled pressure on the Prime Minister to order an inquiry into grooming gangs.
It came as Sir Keir was urged to use celebrities like David Beckham to launch a charm offensive on the new president.
Labour sources said former footballer Beckham has a better chance than politicians do of building bridges with the president because of his ‘star power’.
Sir Keir and other senior Labour ministers have been engaged in a running battle with Elon Musk , the billionaire X owner and a senior ally of the president.
Sir Keir most recently met with Mr Trump at Trump Tower in New York during the presidential campaign last year.
Former Labour MP Lord Mann said Mr Beckham was ‘excellent’ at impressing dignitaries for the London 2012 Olympics and should be deployed again
The sources are concerned over Mr Trump’s threat of punitive trade tariffs and reports his aides may put Sir Keir ‘at the back of the queue’ of world leaders who will be invited to Washington.
Sir Keir has been warned traditional diplomacy will not resonate with Mr Trump and he needs to use more ‘creative’ methods of building a relationship.
One insider said: ‘Trump has no interest in Keir Starmer but likes celebrity and success. We might have more luck deploying the Beckhams as unofficial ambassadors.
‘We have success stories in sport, Hollywood, music – these are part of our soft power and we should be making the most of them and using that for British interest.’
Former Labour MP Lord Mann said a similar approach helped win the Olympics for London in 2012.
