WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Keir Starmer wore a broad smile aboard the plane home from Washington. He landed back in Britain on Friday with the satisfaction of a tricky mission not quite accomplished, but off to a flying start.
Starmer’s goals for his trip were to persuade President Donald Trump to provide Ukraine with security guarantees in any peace deal and head off duties on British goods while pursuing a rapport with an unpredictable U.S. leader who is the center-left prime minister’s opposite in temperament and political outlook.
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On the personal front, he appeared to be remarkably successful. Whether that will bolster U.S. support for Kyiv or spare the U.K. from tariffs, only time will tell.
Good vibes in the Oval Office
Welcoming Starmer in the Oval Office at the White House, a relaxed-looking Trump was generous. He called Britain's leader “a special man” and said the two get along “famously.”
Sitting alongside the president in matching chairs, Starmer didn’t get to say much — but he also didn't have any awkward moments.
At a news conference later, the British leader laid on the charm, praising Trump for returning a bust of Winston Churchill — removed during the Obama and Biden administrations — to its “rightful place” in the Oval Office.
He even compared himself to Trump, saying that although “we are from different political traditions. … We’re both in a hurry to get things done.”
Months of work went into preparing Starmer for this crucial meeting, with British officials strategizing how to strike the right balance of friendship, flattery and frankness.
Starmer walked the line well — largely sticking to accentuating the positive, while occasionally pushing back. He thanked the president for creating a “moment of tremendous opportunity” to end the war in Ukraine — skipping over concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals that Trump is pursuing warmer ties with Russia at the expense of old allies.
Starmer said Trump has made a “historic peace agreement” possible — though he cautioned that it “can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor,” pushing back on Trump’s reluctance to blame Russia for starting the war.
The British press showed rare unity in declaring the trip a success. “Charmer Starmer pulls off diplomatic win in White House,” said the front page of the i newspaper, which prides itself on its neutrality.
“What an unlikely bromance!” said the right-leaning Daily Mail beside a photo of the two men laughing together.
U.S. support for Ukraine is still uncertain
There were hints Starmer may have nudged Trump’s thinking, or at least his language, on Ukraine. Trump said he had “a lot of respect” for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the democratically elected leader whom he recently called a dictator.
The American president said a deal to end the war could come soon, but appeared to offer little on Starmer’s request for U.S. security guarantees to underpin a ceasefire agreement. Britain and France are leading efforts to form a European-led military force to safeguard peace in Ukraine, but argue it can only work with the “backstop” of U.S. military might in case of breaches.
Trump said a deal he is due to sign with Zelenskyy on Friday, giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals, was in itself a security guarantee, because it would bring “a lot” of Americans to work in Ukraine.
He expressed confidence Russian President Vladimir Putin would keep his word; Starmer pointed out that the leader has often broken promises.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump is willing to offer more to Ukraine, though he suggested a deal could see some land seized by Russia returned to Kyiv’s control. “We’re going to see if we can get it back,” he said.
That struck a different note from his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who recently suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia.
Starmer is due to debrief Zelenskyy and European allies about his trip at a meeting in London on Sunday.
Starmer tries to avoid tariffs and seeks a piece of the U.S. AI bonanza
On the economy, Trump suggested the U.S. and Britain could soon strike a trade deal where the tariffs he has imposed or threatened on other countries “won’t be necessary.”
But he offered no promises, saying only that Starmer tried hard to persuade him.
“You are a very tough negotiator,” he told the prime minister. “I’m not sure I like that, but that’s OK.”
Starmer specified that the agreement in the works is “a new economic deal with advanced technology at its core.”
Britain aspires to be the third-biggest world power in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology, after the U.S. and China. Starmer has moved to align Britain with the U.S. over the European Union on AI. He said that “instead of over-regulating these new technologies, we’re seizing the opportunities that they offer.”
But his government, along with other European countries, has been criticized by U.S. Vice President JD Vance for restrictions on online discourse that ask tech companies to remove offending or illegal content.
Vance said during the Oval Office meeting that such laws “affect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens.”
Starmer held his ground, saying that “in relation to free speech in the U.K. I’m very proud of our history there.”
A charm offensive aided by a royal invitation and Starmer’s accent
Starmer’s trump card in his presidential charm offensive was royalty. In the Oval Office he presented the president with an envelope containing — on thick, expensive paper — a letter from King Charles III.
The monarch invited Trump for a state visit, and suggested it be held at Balmoral, the royal family’s Scottish castle and estate.
Starmer noted that it was “unprecedented” for a president to get two such trips to the U.K. Trump was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019, during his first term in office.
Trump accepted the invitation, calling the king “a beautiful man.”
And he had one more thing to praise.
“What a beautiful accent,” Trump said as Starmer finished speaking during the news conference. “I would have been president 20 years ago if I had that accent.”